''Yabancı Damat'' (literally: ''The Foreign Groom'') is a

Turkish television drama Turkish television series ( tr, Türk dizileri) has grown radically since the 2000s. Most dramas reflect Turkish culture and are the country's most well known economic and cultural exports. Turkey is the world's fastest growing television series ...

distributed by

Erler Film Erler Film is a Turkish movie production company established in 1960 in Istanbul by the renowned Turkish film director and producer Türker İnanoğlu. Based today in Kavacık, Beykoz, it is the oldest film company in the country, which is still ...

with 106

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

s in total. It deals with the relationship between a young Greek man Niko and a Turkish girl Nazlı, and the problems (and especially the prejudices) encountered in an intercultural marriage. Its comedic tone and play on historic Greco-Turkish antagonism made it a huge hit in both

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, as well as making stars out of the leading actors. The episodes are shot in Turkey and Greece. The music is Turkish and Greek. The series ran from November 12, 2004 till June 15, 2007 on the Turkish channel

Kanal D Kanal D, also known as Channel D, is a nationwide television channel in Turkey and part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available ...

Friday evenings at 20:00 hrs.

Plot

Nazlı is the daughter of a conservative Turkish father Kahraman, who is a famous baklava maker in

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approxi ...

. Her grandfather Memik Dede is a Greco-Turkish War

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

. Then there is Kadir (Engin Akyürek), son of Ökkeş, the business partner of Kahraman. Kadir is engaged to Nazli. He is kind-hearted and loves her very much. But Nazli falls in love with Niko. Niko, whose parents are immigrants from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, is the son of a wealthy Greek ship owner Stavro. Nazlı and Niko meet in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

, fall in love at first sight and decide to marry. The comedy starts when Niko goes to Gaziantep to ask for her father’s agreement to the marriage. Historical enmity between the two nations makes it very hard and both families oppose their marriage in the beginning. Finally, Nazlı and Niko form a family and settle in Istanbul. They meaningfully name their son Ege (" Aegean"), the sea between Turkey and Greece. The families visit each other several times for various reasons and get so closer. Niko's

spinster ''Spinster'' is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term originally den ...

aunt Katina gets married with a Turkish man, much exasperating her mother Efthalia. Even the initial hatred between the older members of the families, Memik Dede and Efthalia, turns to a romantic affair. As Nazli and Niko enjoy their time, Kadir and Niko’s secretary Anna fall in love. Kadir and Anna get engaged, but circumstances make them to separate as Anna’s modeling profession is not accepted by Kadir’s family. Stella (another foreigner) is the next woman in Kadir’s life. They are happily married and living peacefully, when again tragedy strikes. Stella unable of having kids leaves and asks for a peaceful divorce from Kadir as she wants him to live a complete life with family and children. Finally, Kadir is married to a Turkish girl Aysel. They have a daughter whom he names ‘Nazli’.

Cast

The cast of the series is mostly made of experienced Turkish actors and actresses.

Nazlı's family

* Nehir Erdoğan - Nazlı * Erdal Özyağcılar - Kahraman, Nazli's father, a famous baklava maker in Gaziantep * Sumru Yavrucuk - Feride, Nazli's mother * Binnur Kaya - Nazire, Nazli's older sister * İlker Aksum - Ruşen, Nazire's husband * Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu - Memik Dede, Nazli's grandfather * Ozan Uğurlu - Mustafacan, Nazli's younger brother * Ege Uslu - Nazli and Niko's older son

Niko's family

* Özgür Çevik - Niko (Nikos) * Mazlum Kiper - Stavro (Stavros), Niko's father * Ayla Karaca - Eleni, Niko's mother * Tülin Oral - Eftelya (Euthalia), Niko's grandmother * Nilgün Belgün - Katina, Niko's aunt * Ege Uslu - Nazlı and Niko's older son * Meryem Adda - Nazli and Niko's baby-daughter

Kadir's family

Engin Akyürek Engin Akyürek (born 12 October 1981) is a Turkish actor, screenwriter and author. Akyürek began his acting career in the year 2004. Having starred in many critically acclaimed series and movies, Akyürek is regarded as one of Turkey's most succes ...

- Kadir, former lover of Nazlı *

Zeki Alasya Zeki Alasya (18 April 1943 – 8 May 2015) was a Turkish actor and film director. Alasya was of Turkish Cypriot descent and was related to Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha. Biography Alasya was born in Istanbul. After studying at Robert College, ...

- Ökkeş, Kadir's father and Kahraman's business partner * Seray Gözler - Hayriye, Kadir's mother * Asli Altaylar - Aysel, Kadir's last wife * Nazli - Aysel's and Kadir's baby-daughter

Minor characters

* Yeliz Akkaya - Esra Akman, Niko’s assistant * Güzin Alkan - Döne, maid of Nazlı's family * Natalia Doussopoulos - Anna, Kadir’s girlfriend *

Katerina Moutsatsou Katerina Moutsatsou or Moutsatsos ( el, Κατερίνα Μουτσάτσου), is a Los Angeles-based Greek actress, producer, writer, and activist. She is the author and producer of experimental films, videos, and animation series, which focus ...

- Stella, Kadir's ex-wife * Binnaz Ergin - İkramiye, housekeeper of Nazlı's and Niko's house in

* Yılmaz Gruda - Celayir Usta, Ökkeş’s baklava master * Ahmet Uz - Hikmet * Şinasi Yurtsever - Hamit, Döne's husband * Nazlı Tosunoğlu - Rabia, Ruşen's mother * Kayra/İlayda/Talıa Songur - Nazire's and Ruşen's daughters *

Alara Bozbey ''Alara'' may refer to: People * Alara of Ilara-Mokin, the king of Ilara-Mokin land in Nigeria * Alara of Nubia, a king of Kush * Āḷāra Kālāma, a hermit saint, a teacher of yogic meditation and teacher of Gautama Buddha * Luis Alberto Fernán ...

- Natalia, Nursemaid

Locations

The episodes are shot in

in Turkey and on the Greek Islands of Symi, Santorini,

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

and in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

International broadcast

The Greek channel Mega TV broadcast it from July 4, 2005. The first season was shown on daily basis at 23:00 hrs, the second season was shown every Monday at 21:00. The third season was split, half of the episodes where shown Saturdays of 2007 at 21:00 and the other half episodes are shown in 2008, every Saturday at 17:00. The series used to have great success, especially when the first season was shown. The ratings of the third season are very low, so the channel decided to move the series in the evening schedule. The Bulgarian channel bTV broadcasts it since August 29, 2009 daily at 17:00 hrs. with the title ''Brak s chujdenets'' (''Marriage with a Foreigner''). The series was also dubbed into Arabic with the title ''Al-Gharib'' ("''الغريب''", ''The Stranger'') and aired in March 2009 on

MBC+ Drama The MBC+ Drama was a free-to-air television channel owned by MBC Group. It was a joint venture between OSN and MBC Group. It was a 24-hour Arabic channel that offers a range of Arabic series ''First on TV'' to OSN subscribers starting 1 Febr ...

Awards

* 2006 "Best TV series of the Year" award by the Turkish Association of Radio and Television Journalists along with two other TV series. * 2004: "Best Supporting Actress" award by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards * 2004: "Best Actor" (nominated) by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards *2004: "Best Actress" (nominated) by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards *2004: "Best Music" by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards *2004: "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" (nominated) by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards *2004: "Best Director" by 1st Annual Primetime Beyaz Inci Awards

Series overview

Release

References

External links

Official Website

Yabanci Damat at the Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yabanci Damat Comedy-drama television series 2004 Turkish television series debuts 2007 Turkish television series endings Turkish comedy television series Turkish drama television series 2000s Turkish television series Kanal D original programming Turkish television series endings Television shows set in Istanbul Television shows set in Greece Television series produced in Istanbul