1 June 2009 | Turkey is becoming a popular wedding tourism destination, especially among couples from Arab countries, Iran and Greece, many of whom decide to tie the knot in Istanbul.

People from countries, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iran, want to say their vows in Istanbul because of their exposure to Turkish television series that were filmed at the mansions along the Bosphorus, the Hürriyet newspaper reported.

“Daughters of wealthy Middle Easterners wait in line to get married at the mansion where Gümüş, a popular soap opera, [was] shot,” the publication wrote, while others prefer the Çırağan and Dolmabahçe palaces.

When the show Gümüş – meaning ‘Silver’, was released in the Arab world in 2008 as Noor (Arabic for ‘light), it became one of the most popular television dramas ever broadcast in Arab countries. In Saudi Arabia alone, between three and four million viewers watched the program daily, while the finale was reportedly seen by 85 million people, including more than half the Arab world's adult women.

Last year, according to Hürriyet, 100 weddings took place in Istanbul, inspired by the show.

Greeks, on the other hand, are drawn to the city because they consider it a holy place.

The most economic option – although prices vary, is 40 euro per guest, according to representatives of the Niks Organisation, which handles wedding tourists’ needs and last year arranged 65 weddings, of which 22 involved foreign couples.

Although the couples coming to wed in Turkey are primarily from the Middle East and Greece, the company is also trying to develop new packages, an effort that has brought in customers from Belgium, England, Ireland, Russia. In addition, the Niks Organization aims to turn the Kuşadası-Bodrum area, on Turkey’s southern Aegean coast, into a wedding-tourism destination such as Cuba or Las Vegas.

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