''Istanbul Beneath My Wings'' (Original Turkish title: ''İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında'') is a 1996

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

film, written and directed by

Mustafa Altıoklar Mustafa Altıoklar (born 1958) is a Turkish film director, producer and screenwriter. He is the chairman of the Turkish Film Directors Association and is fluent in English. Although he graduated from the medical faculty of Istanbul University and s ...

. It is a dramatization of Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi's reported flight across the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

from

Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...

Plot

The film takes place in the 17th century. Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi and Lagari Hasan Çelebi are researching bird flight. The new Sultan

Murat IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

resists the domination of his mother, the

Valide The valide trombone is a hybrid valve trombone invented in the 1940s by jazz musician Brad Gowans. It features both a set of three piston brass instrument valve, valves and a slide to vary the pitch. The slide on the valide is positioned within th ...

Kösem Sultan Kösem Sultan ( ota, كوسم سلطان, translit=;, 1589Baysun, M. Cavid, s.v. "Kösem Walide or Kösem Sultan" in ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'' vol. V (1986), Brill, p. 272 " – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker SultanDouglas Arth ...

and tries to enforce strict law and order in the empire. Meanwhile, a Venetian ship that has been captured by Algerian pirates is brought into

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. One of those on the ship is a girl with a manuscript showing how to fly, the latter of which comes into Hezarfen's possession. However, this manuscript can't be deciphered by anyone. Hezarfen and Hasan are caught examining a dead body (which is against the law) and sent to be executed. At the intervention of the Sultan, they are sent for a court trial. Hasan tries to justify the research and experiments by claiming that they could be used as a weapon to defeat the enemies of the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. Murat forbids experiments on dead human bodies but gives his blessing to the duo's research on flying, hoping for a new army of flying soldiers that could get past ground level barriers like walls and the sea, and drop bombs. To go about their task, Hezarfen and Hasan tell Murat of the undecipherable script and ask him to release the girl from the dungeon. The script belongs to

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

and they realise that he too had the same idea of flying with wings, but the text is coded so they are unable to read it. Hezarfan and the girl (whose name turns out to be Franceska)İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında
Filmoria, Access date: 14 June 2022 fall in love. After witnessing some fireworks, Hasan tries experimenting with rockets and during a grand launch, manages to reach a reasonable altitude before bailing out and landing in the water below. When some drinks are accidentally spilt on the manuscript, the coded text becomes visible and Hezarfen uses his own ideas and that of Da Vinci's to build a flying machine consisting of artificial wings. The conservative Şeyh-ül İslam who is against Hezarfen tries to turn the Sultan against him. He succeeds when the Sultan bans Hezarfen from flying and orders his arrest. Hezarfen (with Franceska) manages to escape with the help of

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

to the

Maiden's Tower __NOTOC__ The Maiden's Tower ( tr, Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (''Tower of Leandros'') since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, from the coast of Ü ...

and launches his flying machine across the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...

Cast

Ege Aydan Ege Aydan (born 15 June 1958) is a Turkish actor. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1974. Selected filmography References External links * 1958 births Living people Turkish male film actors Male actors from Ankara ...

as Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi * Okan Bayülgen as Lagari Hasan Çelebi * Beatriz Rico as Franceska *

Burak Sergen Burak Sergen (born 9 February 1961) is a Turkish actor. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1996. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * 1961 births Living people Turkish male film actors ...

as Sultan

Savaş Ay Savaş Ay (26 March 1954 – 9 November 2013) was a Turkish newspaper and television journalist, best known for his panel discussion television series ''A Takımı'' (The A-Team). Savaş Ay was born on 26 March 1954 in Gaziantep to actor Turan A ...

as Bekri Mustafa *

Zuhal Olcay Zuhal Olcay (; born 10 August 1957) is a Turkish actress and singer. Biography Graduated from Ankara State Conservatory in 1976, she first started as a stage actress. Since 1983 she also started acting in films and became famous with films like ...

Haluk Bilginer Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera ''EastEnders'' ...

Tuncel Kurtiz Tuncel Tayanç Kurtiz (1 February 1936 – 27 September 2013) was a Turkish theatre, movie and TV series actor, playwright, and film director. Since 1964, he acted in more than 70 movies, including many international productions. Early year ...

as Topal Recep Paşa * Giovanni Scognamillo as Antonio Ağa * Ayton Sert as Hekimbaşı * Berke Hürcan as Musa Çelebi *

Nazan Kesal Nazan Kırılmış Kesal (born 28 March 1969) is a Turkish actress. In 2004, she worked as a director and actor in Diyarbakır State Theater. The artist who was appointed to Bursa State Theater in early 2004, also worked in private groups such a ...

as Fahişe * Altan Günbay as Meyhaneci Agop * Akasya Asıltürkmen as Leyla Hazer *

Cüneyt Çalışkur Cüneyt () is the Turkish spelling of Arabic masculine given name Junayd (Arabic: جُنَيْد ''junayd'') meaning "soldier, warrior". People named Cüneyt include: * Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish film actor * Cüneyt Bey of Aydın, Turkish bey * C ...

as Şeyh-ül İslam

Awards

Burak Sergen was awarded "Most Promising New Actor" at the 8th Ankara Film Festival. The film also won awards for "Best Music" (Tuluyhan Uğurlu) and "Best Cinematography" (Uğur İçbak) at the 18th SİYAD awards.

Bibliography

* Türker İnanoğlu, 5555 Afişle Türk Sineması. İstanbul: Kabalcı, 2004. * Agâh Özgüç, Ansiklopedik Türk Filmleri Sözlüğü. İstanbul: Horizon International Yayınları, 2012. * Agâh Özgüç, Türk Filmleri Sözlüğü 1917-2009. İstanbul: T. C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı ve SESAM, 2009. * Deniz Yavuz, Türkiye Sinemasının 22 Yılı (1990-2011). İstanbul: Antrakt Sinema Kitaplığı, 2013.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0272142, title=Istanbul Beneath My Wings 1990s fantasy drama films 1996 LGBT-related films 1996 films Turkish aviation films Films set in Istanbul Films set in Turkey Turkish fantasy drama films 1990s Turkish-language films Turkish LGBT-related films 1996 drama films