Cappadoccia is beautiful. With the director's choice of filters and everything it becomes even more beautiful on screen. The main character of the well-directed episodes are inevitably the land itself I think. However; it would not be so fair to neglect the director's effort here because Istanbul and NYC parts are also nice. The choice of places, especially where Istanbul is being filmed, is well-made.
About the characters; I might say that they are real. The story itself has some (well quite several) extremes that can be seen as gifts of trying to attract the audience but the characters are surprisingly well-thought, well-formed and well-incarnated thanks to the writers and the actors. The kitchen gang and the against-all-the-feudalism loves are my favorites. The story sometimes touches the regional problems of Turkey as well as the universal problems of human nature. In my opinion, it could have been done in a better way (I actually think that it's a bit over-rated in Turkey but what isn't?); but there "always" is a better way; so as a person who knows Turkish TV, this series deserves appreciation.
(The ending which is completed by the movie called "Asmali Konak - Hayat" is still much of a cliché though.)
About the characters; I might say that they are real. The story itself has some (well quite several) extremes that can be seen as gifts of trying to attract the audience but the characters are surprisingly well-thought, well-formed and well-incarnated thanks to the writers and the actors. The kitchen gang and the against-all-the-feudalism loves are my favorites. The story sometimes touches the regional problems of Turkey as well as the universal problems of human nature. In my opinion, it could have been done in a better way (I actually think that it's a bit over-rated in Turkey but what isn't?); but there "always" is a better way; so as a person who knows Turkish TV, this series deserves appreciation.
(The ending which is completed by the movie called "Asmali Konak - Hayat" is still much of a cliché though.)