The Geography of Reception: Why Do Egyptians Watch Turkish Soap Operas?

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Turkish soap operas broadcast outside of Turkey, particularly in the Arab world. Turkish television stars quickly became pop idols in the Middle East and the Balkans, creating great sympathy for the Turkish identity, culture, and values. Egypt, with its large population and great importance in the region, epitomizes the salient geography of audiences where Turkish soap operas have become a pervasive phenomenon, and is therefore the focus of this study, which explores two sets of questions: (1) How have Turkish soap operas influenced Egyptian people, mainly students, in terms of their understanding of Turkish culture and Turkey's role in the Middle East? What kinds of Turkish soap operas do they watch, and what actors do they favour? (2) Why do people watch Turkish soap operas? What do they do with them? How can Egyptian audiences' interpretations of Turkish soap operas be conceptualized, signified, and classified? How and to what degree does Egyptian society interpret Turkish soap operas, and how can their meaning making be read and understood? The study used a face-to-face survey and open-ended questionnaire to answer these questions. Salient findings are (a) that from the perspectives of technical quality, acting, and plot, no better alternatives exist to replace Turkish soap operas; (b) that Egyptian audiences enjoy romantic narratives and pure, immaculate love stories that are well written and passionately acted; (c) that young people and women, in particular, want to experience Turkish-style modernism (combining capitalism and tradition), fashion, and beauty; and (d) that many Egyptians see Turkey as a success story of the Muslim world, from economic development to democratization, human rights, freedom of expression, and the simultaneous practice of Islam and tradition.