Fetih hits screens with huge interest

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Premier hour was set to year of 1453.

Turkish movie “Fetih 1453” (Conquest 1453) premiered yesterday in cinemas across the country at 14:53 p.m. local time. The movie aroused huge interest among audiences.

The premiere hour was set to mimic the year of the date Istanbul was captured by Ottoman forces in 1453. Premieres usually take place during the night in Turkey.

The movie, directed by Faruk Aksoy, tells the story of Istanbul’s capture by the Ottomans during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. It has angered Christians in the German city of Cologne, with the Christian association Via Dolorosa boycotting the film. The association said Turks should be ashamed of what they did to Christians in the past instead of celebrating Istanbul’s conquest.

“We advise every Christian not to watch this movie. We will distribute brochures in front of the cinemas and inform Christians who are interested in seeing this movie,” said a spokesperson, adding that the Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest.

The movie has also angered Greek viewers after it was released there in January. Greek weekly To Proto Thema described the film as “conquest propaganda by the Turks,” in a story published on its website. “The Turkish invaders present themselves as rulers of the world” and “[fail] to show the mass killings of Greeks and the plunder of the land by the Turks,” the piece said.