During its four-season run between 2011 to 2014, the TV series Hareem Al Sultan (The Sultan’s Harem) became the most watched drama show on broadcaster OSN.
Dubbed from a Turkish show called Muhte em Yuzyil (The Magnificent Century), the drama about the life of Ottoman Sultan Sulaiman I, often known as Sulaiman the Magnificent, and the slave girl who wins his heart, Hurrem Sultan, had all the elements of a hit TV show: sumptuous costumes and a mix of romance and history, all set against a backdrop of power struggles at the peak of the Ottoman empire in the 16th Century.
By the time season 4 premiered in 2014, the show had aired in 60 countries with more than 400 million viewers around the world, according to Istanbul Entertainment Group, producers of the show.
The TV show may be over but fans in the UAE have been given an opportunity to experience it all over again with Hareem Al Sultan: The Exhibition, at City Walk Dubai.
Featuring more than 500 accessories and 100 costumes recreated from the show, and spread over a 1,200 metre square area, the exhibition is meant to be as much about the show as it is a lesson in history, according to its project director Riham Abudaqa.
“Our research showed that the UAE had one of the highest viewership numbers of the show in the Arab world, so we’ve been wanting to bring it here ever since we launched the exhibition in Istanbul in 2014,” she says. “Also because of our common culture, there is a lot of history to learn about the Ottoman Empire and that particular time in history.”
Starting with Hurrem Sultan’s journey in a ship as a slave girl to Constantinople (present day Istanbul), the exhibition begins in a replica of a ship, meant to mimic the cramped environment she and other slaves would have been transported in. Visitors are then taken to the marketplace, where Hurrem is sold, and then to the harem of the Topkapi Palace, where she would meet the sultan.
The 14 rooms include the Queen Mother’s chamber; the Chamber of Petitions, where the sultan met his subjects; the palace kitchen and Sulaiman’s chamber with Hurrem. Each section is themed and decorated, with distinct scents used from room to room, adding to the immersive experience.
“We want the visitors to touch, feel, smell and taste the experience,” says Abudaqa. “So when you walk into [the] hammam, for instance, you can smell the perfumes and the soaps that they used.”
A highlight is the 12 life-like silicone sculptures of some of the series’ well-known characters, each rendered in the finest detail.
“Some of the fans get so excited to see their favourite characters that we have to remind them not to touch the sculptures,” says Abudaqa.
Assistants dressed as palace workers mill about to assist visitors.
Following its opening in Istanbul in 2014, a smaller version of the Hareem Al Sultan exhibition travelled briefly to Qatar last year. But this is the first large-scale set-up of the exhibition as it was originally envisioned. It will stay at City Walk indefinitely.
The gift shop at the end of the exhibition is always the busiest, says Abuqada. There, fans can buy Hareem Al Sultan replica jewellery, costumes, accessories, perfumes and even soaps. Plans are also on to add commentary in Russian and Turkish, due to demand.
“We want to grow it, and add more elements to the entire show as we go along,” she says. “But it will depend on the fans and how successful the exhibition is.”
Did you know?
- Kosem Sultan, a spin-off of Hareem Al Sultan, has been released by the same people behind the hit series, and is already a ratings champ. Set in the early 17th century, 50 years after the death of Sultan Sulaiman in Hareem Al Sultan, the story is about Kosem Sultan, the wife of Ottoman Sultan Ahmad I, often considered one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history. Award-winning Turkish actress Beren Saat plays the role of Kosem Sultan. The show is set to return for its second season in May and through Ramadan on OSN YaHala HD.
- Turkish-German actress Meryem Uzerli, now 32, who played Hurrem Sultan in the first three seasons of Hareem Al Sultan, suddenly left the show in 2013, citing health reasons. She posted a message on her Facebook page, saying she was suffering from a burnout due to the hectic work schedule. In the finale of season 3, actress Vahide Gordum, 50, is revealed as the new Sultana. Writers had to fast-forward the story in order to accommodate her as the “older” Hurrem.
Don’t miss it!
Hareem Al Sultan: The Exhibition is open seven days a week at City Walk, from 12pm to 10pm, until December 2016. Tickets to the exhibition are Dh50 for those aged between 7 to 14 years and Dh100 for those 15 years and above. Children under six go in for free. Tickets are available on the door or online at www.ticketmaster.ae.
