‘Turkish passion’: sex, crimes and antiquities trafficking in the new Antena 3 series

Long before we met Dr. Asya and her ex-husband Volkan in Unfaithfulto the protagonists of innocent, bitter land, The Ambassador’s Daughter either, more recently, Family secrets, the Andalusian writer Anthony Gala He already found, back in the early nineties, with the formula that would end up, many years later, being a worldwide success. In 1993, Gala published The Turkish Passiona mix between lust and intrigue with the beautiful landscapes of the Bosphorus as a backdrop.

Gala was at that time one of the most famous and appreciated writers in Spain, one of those rare examples that combined good novels with bestsellers. In 1990 he won Planet Award with the crimson manuscripta sort of fictionalized biography in which he recounted the life of Boabdil, the last Nasrid king of Granada, a traumatized man who had to watch in dismay the unstoppable decline of his kingdom.

“Love taken to extreme limits”

Three years later it appeared The Turkish Passionan erotic novel where sex and the furtive fatal attraction had as much prominence as the frustration of a woman bored with life. Gala He acknowledged when he published it that he wanted to explore “love taken to extreme limits”, but what came out was much more interesting.

Gala, who has always had a tremendous gift for getting into the skin of women, presented in the book Desideria Olivana woman from Huesca, with a bland, routine and profoundly conventional life whose marriage has fallen into the most soporific boredom. On a fair trip to her husband, Ramiroand some friends meet the handsome and irresistible Yamanthe tour guide and owner of a store in a bazaar, and an overwhelming passion of exorbitant lust is unleashed between them.

But not everything will be pure joy and uncontrollable feelings. wish leaves everything for him to the point that he goes to live Istanbul, but once there she discovers that her lover is not who he seems to be and has a dangerous double life. Desi finds herself between the unbridled passion that she feels for her lover and her fear of being involved in criminal plots that are destroying her little by little. And so far I can read without doing too many spoilers.

a new vision

The novel, of course, had it all: passion, lust, crimes, shady deals. And it explored the mind of a dissatisfied woman who ends up consumed. No wonder it was quickly made into a movie: Vincent Aranda adapted it into 1994 with Ana Belen as protagonist.

Now, Antenna 3 bet on her again. It is known that the chain Atresmedia is working on the creation of six episodes, fifty minutes each, which will be shot between istanbul Y Madrid. Maggie Civantos and the Turkish actor Ilker Kaleli will lead the cast, which will feature Spanish, Turkish and Italian actors.

The plot, although it follows the general lines of the novel, some licenses are allowed. olivia (the name that the protagonist has in the book is changed) is a consolidated artist, graduated in Fine arts and expert in Byzantine art who wants to present herself to some oppositions of titular professor in the university and travels to istanbul to deepen your area of ​​knowledge. There he meets Yamana man as exquisite and charismatic as he is attractive, who runs an antique shop focused on Mesopotamian art.

Olivia is immediately attracted to him and a torrid romance develops between them. But Yaman he is not who he says he is: married and with a child (data that he hides from olivia), is actually a trafficker of antiques and pieces of art from countries at war, com Iraq. Yaman wants to use the knowledge of olivia and involves her in a criminal plot from which the protagonist will come out very badly.

Don’t worry, I’m not doing anything spoilers, because all this information is known almost at the beginning of the series. In fact, The Turkish Passion starts with olivia waking up in an Istanbul hospital after having attempted suicide. A police inspector will question her about her role in Yamán’s criminal network and, to avoid ending up behind bars, Olivia must return to her lover and report her movements. Thus, she will be immersed again in a whirlwind of sensations and passions where no one is who they say they are, everyone keeps dangerous secrets and stark, wild lust resurfaces between the protagonists. Will Olivia survive her story with Yamán this time? You’ll have to watch the series to find out.