Vatanim Sensin

Based on a true story about the Turkish War for Independence (1919-1923), after which Turkey (Türkiye) became a nation. Vatanim Sensin tell us about a fascinating time in Turkish history, during the partition of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the Sultanate. The series focuses on western Turkey, the territory surrounding Izmir and the invasion of Greek military forces that were supported and funded by the european political power brokers of the day.

There are true to life characters such as General Cevdet (played by Halit Ergenc) who represents the life of Mümin Aksoy, a Turkish soldier and spy working for Turkish intelligence. Aksoy infiltrated the Greek military and became a trusted advisor who was welcomed in many Greek homes and parties. Kara Fatma (Black Fatma) was a highly respected female Officer who successfully organized community militas comprised of women, men, and soldiers on the western front to fight the Greeks. In Turkish Kara means black but for warriors Kara means Courageous. Hence, Courageous / Kara Fatma. I found a small news clip from the NY TImes, dated April 23, 1922, that discusses Kara Fatma achieving the rank of Lieutenant in the Turkish army.

Vatanim Sensin is not amazing for it's grandeur and expensive movie showmanship. Instead, this is an intimate portrait of a beautiful Turkish family affected in various ways by war and their commitment to stand against the invaders of their land and home, even at a very high cost that threatens to destroy the family and the deep and abiding love they have for one another. They fight to survive, to stay together, to stay apart, to understand the whirlwind of their circumstances. There is war, the the backyard deals made by traitors and greedy self-serving profiteers, love and romance, ever-changing scenarios. There are no grand battle scenes. It's intimate and beautiful, it's sad and painful, it's exquisite and admirable. As it is in life, we see

The series is well written. The pace of the storyline is tight and consistent. The characters are interesting and wonderfully portrayed - Halit as the Greek General Cevdet and his Turkish wife, the long suffering and beautiful Azize. Each episode ends in a cliff hanger and I am usually pretty good at figuring things out ahead of time but throughout the entire series, there was only one connection I was able to determine accurately.

This series needs to be translated into english and offered to all english speaking countries. I highly encourage anyone watching to read about the history of the Ottoman Empire in its latter days and the Turkish War for Independence; how Europe tried and failed to divide their land and the spoils for themselves.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk won that war for Independence and initiated numerous economic, social, and political reforms that transformed Turkey into a secular and prosperous nation. Turkey is divided by two continents and the Bosphorus River runs down the middle. On one side is Asia and the other side is Europe. Fascinating place and history.

I am not usually the type to become invested in Turkish soap-opera, but this one surprisingly stood out. I started watching it on a local channel three years ago, but they soon cut the series off so I had to stream it. After 120 hours of investment in Azize and Cevdet's adventures, I believe I'm ready to give my two cents about it.

Cevdet and Azize are two halves of the same protagonist and the backbone of this show. No matter how much fate can tear them apart, they are always there for each other and display what love really is about. They may criticize each other, fight, even divorce out of necessity, but their mutual trust never fades and is reflected in their eyes with every dialogue. Absolutely no unnecessary sex and cringe modern-display-of-emotion scenes appear in this show; instead, Halit and Berguzar, being a real-life married couple, pour all of their real-life shared emotion on screen.

Cevdet is such a colorful and a brilliantly portrayed male lead. He possesses outstanding emotional strength when it comes to hiding his double-agent identity and yet he can be so vulnerable when Azize is around. His morals are unbreakable and keep on coflicting throughout the show which makes him very relatable and manages to keep the show interesting throughout its long run. I enjoy watching him display the traditional heroic traits like courage and persistence as well as the grief and despair in times of chaos.

When Cevdet cries, I cry. And I enjoy seeing that kind of raw emotion on screen; it is a rare sight indeed these days. Even more so when Azize comes to lift him up from the grave. Vatanim sensin, or "You Are My Homeland", is rightfully the title of the series.

After being constantly bombarded with themes of feminism from the mainstream entertainment providers, I was astounded how graciously Turkish writers managed to portray the strength of women in this show while simultaneously immersing them in their traditional roles. The primary example of this is Azize, the ultimate mother and the ideal wife of our hero Cevdet. Her motherly love towards everyone around her never stands in the way of protecting her family; it is really intriguing to observe how those two principles clash when her double-agent husband comes into play. She can be very decisive and proud when fighting for homeland as well as modest and humble when bearing sacrifices for her loved ones.

One of the first things that caught my attention in this series is the costumography and ambience in general. The framerate of the show doesn't seem to be the usual 60fps which gives it a slightly nicer movie-like feel than that of usual soap-operas. I don't know whether the show is historically accurate, but I surely bought it; it feels nice to be at least slightly informed about what was happening in modern-day Turkey inbetween the two world wars.

I could write on and on about Leon, Hilal, Yildiz, Yakup, Dagistanli and Tevfik, but I don't have that much time. Every character brings something unique to the show and the common theme of patriotism is very nicely outlined and cherished within each one of them. If you do have the time to devote yourself to 120 hours of love, hate, war and friendship, I warmly recommend you try this series.

Being a Turkish drama addict I can say this is the best one I have ever seen. The acting (by all the cast - not just Halit and Berguzar) is superb, the plot is riveting, the surprise plot twists are shocking, and the history behind this tale is extremely interesting. It has led many (including myself) to investigate Turkish history during WWI and the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk years. Halit Ergenc is absolute magic in this role. He elicits a reaction with one facial twitch that might take other actors 10-12 lines of dialog. He has to be the premier Turkish actor of this era. Pairing him with his real-life wife, Berguzar Korel, works like a charm in this series. They play off each other so, so well. I cannot recommend this drama high enough. It's wonderful.

Moving and great story about war. Great acting, great story.

Why did I ever start watching it? Just so I can be sad that it ended. I can never watch it like the first time again. Leonim, Hilalim hepinizi seviyorum You all are engraved in my heart forever.