At the start of the protests that recently swept Turkey, journalists picked out one man with a luxuriant beard among the youthful crowds in Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Later he met the Turkish PM as part of a group hoping to mediate between the government and demonstrators.
That man is Halit Ergenc and he is internationally famous
largely because of his role as a Sultan - hence the beard - in a Turkish
TV costume drama, Magnificent Century (Muhtesem Yuzyil), that has been
sold to dozens of countries.
Set in the Ottoman world, it spins the yarn of
Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest reigning Sultan, and his love for
a Western woman in his harem, with whom he becomes obsessed, and
eventually marries.
About to film its fourth season, it is one of the shows that
earned Turkey $130m in foreign sales last year - up from a mere $1m in
2007.That it looks back 500 years to the era when Turkish Sultans ruled much of the Balkans and the Middle East is perhaps appropriate, as it has been seen in 47 countries mostly from this region.
The exported shows rely on a heady mix of slick production, storylines full of passion and intrigue (there was plenty of that in Suleiman's court), beautiful actors and actresses, and iconic Turkish locations.
Take Forbidden Love (Ask-i Memnu). It is set in a mansion on the Bosphorus and tells the story of the forbidden passion between a handsome young man, Behlul, and a beautiful young woman, Bihter, who is married to his uncle.
They live under the same roof. You know this is not going to turn out well
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