Over 100,000 Saudis are expected to visit Turkey this summer compared to just 30,000 last year. How did such an increase in the number of Saudis interested in visiting Turkey happen? Simple, through soap operas. Ever since MBC started to broadcast ‘Lost Years,' a Turkish soap opera, Saudis have been hooked to their TV sets. Turkish soap operas are the hottest and most popular TV serials being aired these days. Saudi women, young girls and even men are hooked to their TV screens everyday to watch what happens next in ‘Noor' and ‘Lost Years,' two Turkish soap opera's dubbed into Arabic. “We don't miss a single episode,” said Mashael Al-Hamdan, a Saudi housewife and mother of six. “We schedule our appointments around them, we are that addicted.” “Yes, this increase in Saudi tourists is because of the soap operas,” said Turkish Ambassador to Riyadh Naci Koru. “We used to have only two flights a week from Riyadh to Istanbul, today we have four air bus flights and they are all fully packed.” The two Turkish soap operas have been more successful in attracting 100,000 hearts and minds of Saudis in less than a year than the billions of dollars spent on tourism marketing campaigns. Many of the scenes in these soap operas are set in beautiful green parks and natural scenic locations. “We fell in love with Turkey through the beautiful scenery we watched,” said Amal Zahrani, who has booked a month vacation in Turkey with her family. “Of course my daughters are eager because they all like one of the male stars, and I am sure the boys are eager to see beautiful girls like the ones they see on the TV. I am just interested in enjoying the greenery.” Istanbul, Bursa, Yalova and Antalya are the most popular tourist destinations for Saudis in Turkey, the ambassador said. While elder viewers are attracted to the social settings and drama of the stories young Saudi women such as Zahrani's daughters have already fallen for the male leading stars, Mohanad in ‘Noor' and Yahya in ‘Lost Years'. “He is so cute and so romantic with his wife, it hurts to watch,” said Jamilah, a teenager, who shares the feeling with all her girlfriends and cousins. The craze has gone as far as hanging posters of the stars on bedroom walls, computer screen savers, background picture on mobile phones and mobile tones. Today the hottest mobile ring tone is the music of ‘Lost Years'. While the soap operas have been able to attract Saudi tourists to Turkey, bilateral relations between the two countries have seen a boost this year as well. “We also have had ten visits by Turkish ministers to the Kingdom as well as a visit by the prime minister and speaker of parliament, all this in the past few months,” explained the Turkish ambassador. __
