Romania has retained strong commercial and diplomatic ties with Turkey since the Balkan gained independence in 1878, yet it comes as a surprise to learn of the increasing popularity of Turkish soap operas aired on Romanian TV. Providing a portal into the Turkish way of life and language, such soaps have led to a gradual increase in the number of tourists visiting the country.
“Turkish series are very popular in Romania. [Private channel] Kanal D has three or four Turkish series. It was interesting to see the Romanians’ reactions – they have started to learn a few words in Turkish and to learn about the customs,” Silvana Rachieru, the director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Turkey, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Noting that channels had previously been dominated by Latin American soaps, Rachieru said she had been pleasantly surprised to be met with cries of “merhaba” (hello) and “nasılsın” (how are you?) by mothers of friends when traveling back to visit her homeland.
Growing interest in Romania
The cultural exchange provided by the Turkish TV series, however, is a two-way street, as many of the 30,000 Turks who have lived in Romania choose to keep up with cultural events related to Romania after they return to Turkey, according to Rachieru.
“The Romanian Cultural Institute has a structure similar to [Germany’s] Goethe Institute and [Spain’s] Cervantes [Institute] so we organize regular events promoting Romanian culture. For example, we bring Romanian artists to Turkish cities and towns. We try to cover every aspect of culture, from the visual arts to the music,” she said.
Referring to a recent event, Rachieru painted a colorful picture of a visiting brass band from Romania who had performed in different clubs and participated in workshops with Roma children from a primary school in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul.
“The children started very recently but can already play different instruments; they are children from the Roma community so they also have a [natural] talent,” Rachieru said.
With the participation of a Romanian theater company in the International Black Sea Theater Festival and the institute’s involvement with the Documentary Festival Documentarist, the institute’s schedule is a cultural hive.
“This year the Istanbul documentary festival will screen five Romanian documentaries and have two directors attending, one of whom will give a master class,” the director said.
As well as becoming involved in the Istanbul cultural scene, Rachieru also spoke of how the institute encourages Turks to involve themselves directly with Romanian culture.
“We have a system of sending specialists from Turkey to Romania to follow the main cultural events and we have done this already with theater and book fairs. For example, at the beginning of June, a group of six film specialists from Turkey will go to Romania to follow the main Romanian film festival,” Rachieru said.
“There are many Turks living or doing business in Romania; they already have an interest in the culture there and want to see what is happening,” she said.
Speaking of the growing interest in the Romanian language among Turks, Rachieru said the institute next plans to open up a language center. As well as bringing over an array of musical and cinematic talent to Turkey, Rachieru said the institute was attempting to build up a team of translators who would translate Romanian literature from Romanian to Turkish.
Life ‘à la Turca’
Rachieru became interested in Turkish culture during her university years, specializing in Ottoman and Romanian relations for her history doctorate, and holds a permanent position as a history professor in the University of Bucharest. Although Rachieru said life in Istanbul was tough compared to Bucharest – given that the Romanian capital is nine times smaller than Turkey’s largest city – she said she fell instantly in love with the metropolis and felt at home.
“Being a historian, I enjoy every corner of the city and I am trying to discover as much as possible. It is a tough city to live in but at the same time people are very friendly here and I don’t feel like a foreigner, speaking the language opens different doors,” she said.
Speaking about the recent boom in Turkish cinema, she said she was very impressed by the vast scope of films being produced within the country. Noting the success of Çağan Irmak’s 2008 love story, “Issiz Adam” (Alone), which drew queues outside cinema halls, Rachieru pointed to the increasing number of young directors preoccupied by the fabric of daily life and those who created socially committed projects.
“To an extent, I see a parallel between Romanian cinema and Turkish cinema because both of them grew and were successful in 1970s but then went downhill because of the economic crisis. Now both are growing again and I have really enjoyed the recent developments,” she said.
While loving her life “à la Turca,” Rachieru pointed out one difference, which had caught her eye, the way in which gender relations were perceived.
“Being a young independent working woman coming to Istanbul, sometimes you have to face stereotypes and be treated as somebody’s wife. You have to convince the audience that you are a professional and know what you are talking about. I found this a little disturbing at the beginning,” she said.
Commenting that she had been much more used to seeing mixed groups of men, women and boys and girls together, she spoke of the more noticeable separation of genders yet accepted that acclimatizing oneself to such differences came with the experience of a culture.
“We have to understand that there are some rules and you have to understand they are part of the culture,” Rachieru said.
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