New Blockbuster Fuels Debate on Turkey's "Neo-Ottoman" Aims

A new Turkish blockbuster glorifying the 15th-century Ottoman conquest of Constantinople has taken Turkey by storm at a time when the government is flexing its muscles as a new regional strongman.

"Fetih 1453" -- or Conquest 1453 -- has drawn record crowds since it opened on February 16, recounting what is upheld as one of the most glorious moments in the nation's history.

The buzz has left few indifferent, tapping Turkish pride but also fuelling a debate that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is aiming to make Turkey, as in Ottoman times, the most powerful state in the area.

The film is hailed as a milestone in Turkish cinema, but others have dismissed it as a Hollywood copycat that's distorted history.

Its budget, at 17 million dollars, has surpassed that for any Turkish movie, and a whopping 3.4 million people flocked to see the film in the first two weeks, according to Box Office Turkey which expects it to shatter records held by previous domestic productions.

"It is not the first film with the theme of (Constantinople's) conquest but it is the first movie ever shot in Turkey at such a scale, and with such a big budget," Filiz Ocal from the film's press office told Agence France Presse.

The movie depicts the 1453 capture of the Byzantine capital, which was renamed Istanbul and served as the capital of the Ottoman Turks -- one of history's longest and biggest empires that stretched from southeast Europe to the Middle East and North Africa -- until its collapse in World War I.

Even its first public showing, at precisely 14:53 pm, was symbolic.

"As a producer, I am proud of our history, our past like everyone living in this country," director and producer Faruk Aksoy said in a statement.

"The conquest of Istanbul is an undisputed event, not only for our country but also in terms of world history, that closed one era and opened another."

The Turkish press said Erdogan was given a sneak preview and liked the film, which comes amid accusations that his government is promoting "neo-Ottomanism" as a foreign policy tool to restore Turkish influence in former Ottoman zones -- a charge it denies.

Once Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world, Turkey has abandoned its role as a Middle East intermediary and taken advantage of an Arab vacuum -- while Arab leaders are busy in the wake of popular uprisings -- to forge a new role as a regional standard-bearer.

As the only mainly Muslim member of NATO, Turkey had long been seen as having its diplomatic feet firmly planted in the West.

But under Erdogan's term, it has increasingly rewritten the script, not only falling out with Israel and breaking ranks with the West over its response towards Iran's nuclear ambitions but also showing a willingness to get tough with Syria's brutal crackdown on regime opponents.

"With its booming economy and political influence, Turkey is perceived as a model in the Middle East," said Mensur Akgun, international relations professor at Istanbul's Kultur University.

"It is only natural that the stronger Turkey gets, the more seriously it is taken by the world," he added.

For many observers, film and notably Turkish television series -- which are highly popular in the Arab world -- are playing a role in boosting Turkey's image.

"Obviously we can talk about an attempt to influence the region culturally," said Akif Kirecci, as assistant professor at Ankara's Bilkent University.

"But at the same time Turks are rediscovering their own history," he said.

The 160-minute epic begins with a flashback to the Muslim holy city Medina in the 600s, and Prophet Mohammed promising glory to whoever captures Constantinople: "The commander who conquers it will be a blessed one, his soldiers will be blessed soldiers."

The honor, in 1453, went to the Turkish sultan Mehmed II, who vowed: "Either I will take Constantinople or it will take me".

"The film has achieved a breakthrough for its quality and technique but respect for history falls far behind commercial concerns," Yilmaz Kurt, head of the history department at Ankara University, told AFP.

He singled one scene where the Byzantine emperor moves his army outside city walls to battle the Ottoman forces, saying: "It would have been plain stupid for a city state under attack to send its army outside city walls."

Others dismiss the film as a shallow clone of big-budget Hollywood action films like "Gladiator" and "Matrix", in a bid for mass appeal.

"This is ultimately a feature film which reflects its director's choices. This is a drama, which also has a love story," press officer Ocal said in defense.

Producer Aksoy brushed off the comments, saying they show an "inferiority complex".

"We've gone even further. We did not plagiarize from only five or six movies but from hundreds of movies," he said sarcastically.

"Each of those films has a director. Alas, so do we. They have scriptwriters but so do we. They have their own music, so do we."