HOMELAND: BALKAN
Production: TRT Avaz
Production year: 2026
Duration: 00.30.00
Number of Episodes: 3 (+1 hour 13 minutes special episode)
Format: Documentary, 4K, Coloured, Turkish
PRODUCER - DIRECTOR: İsmet YAZICI
CONSULTANT: Gökhan DUMAN
WRITTEN BY: İsmet YAZICI – Gökhan DUMAN
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Tevfik ÖBER
CAMERA: Samet AYDIN
DRONE CAMERA: Nihat ÇÖLKESEN – Murat ARSLAN
NARRATION: Şerif EROL
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Tamer SÜERDEM
EDITING: Samet AKGÜL
COLOR GRADING: Koray SÜNBÜL
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Eyüp UĞRAMAZ
ASSISTANT PRODUCER - DIRECTOR: Semanur ARSLAN
SOUND RECORDING: Gökçe BEKTAŞ KOÇ
SOUND DESIGN & MIXING: Nuri AYKURT
ARCHIVE RESEARCH: Haydar ÇÜRÜK
Consisting of three 30-minute episodes and 1 hour and 13 minute long version, the series places the notion of “being Turkish in the Balkans” at its core. It seeks to recall the enduring traces left by centuries of Turkish presence in the region, while portraying the struggle for existence of the Turkish population in the Balkans in the post-Ottoman era. With humanity, culture, and identity as its central pillars, the documentary adopts a fluid narrative style that connects stories, places, and memories through their shared transitions.
The first episode explores the Balkans as a crossroads where East and West meet and confront one another. At the heart of this intersection lie the traces of the Turk, who has built bridges across the region for centuries. Through voices and signs that remain silent yet unshakable today, the episode follows a heritage that gains new meaning with each generation.
While wars have marked many regions of the world, few have witnessed destruction as profound as that which tore neighbors apart overnight and redrew lives through borders. In the 20th century, this geography of pain was the Balkans. Following the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire, countless figures struggled to preserve their identity and faith. The second episode traces that resistance through both renowned and unnamed heroes, among them Alija Izetbegović, Sadık Ahmet, Türkan Feyzullah, and Nuri Turgut Adalı, whose legacy is etched not only in stone, but in memory and conscience. Like the Roses of Sarajevo, this memory blooms anew with every life lost, becoming a responsibility passed on to future generations.
The final episode focuses on those who found a homeland in language itself, who preserved identity under its shelter and built a sense of belonging through its guidance. Language, here, is not merely a tool of communication, but the ancient home of memory, tradition, spirit, past, and future. Turkish, echoing through the stone streets of the Balkans, remains alive as collective memory. From the legacy of Nimetullah Hafız, to Tefeyyüz Schools, Turkish-language radio stations, the National Institution Turkish Theatre in Skopje, and Bulgaria’s Nöbet Tepe literary journal, the episode reveals how Turkish continues to stand watch over culture and identity across the region.
