Destination Marketing Goes Next-Level with GoTürkiye’s New Mini-Series: İstanbul My Love
After the viral success of Antalya Gambit, GoTürkiye unveils its latest original production—İstanbul My Love. While not a sequel, this second stand-alone mini-series builds on the innovative approach of blending cinematic storytelling with cultural promotion, this time spotlighting Türkiye’s most iconic city: Istanbul.
İstanbul My Love is more than a love story. It’s a smart, stylized continuation of GoTürkiye’s high-concept marketing series, blending emotional storytelling with the innovative pulse of AI and digital love experiments. Starring Turkish icons Afra Saraçoğlu and Engin Akyürek, this poetic mini-series captures Istanbul as a living, breathing character—mysterious, magnetic, and always full of surprise.
What Is İstanbul My Love?
A Season of Seduction, Code, and Culture
- Format: 10 micro-episodes (3 minutes each)
- Platform: GoTürkiye’s official YouTube channel
- Genre: Romantic sci-fi / Urban drama
- Lead Cast:
- Afra Saraçoğlu as “İstanbul,” a tech visionary
- Engin Akyürek as “Tan,” a pragmatic investor
- Director: Ozan Açıktan
- Language: Turkish with English, Spanish, and Arabic subtitles
A season in every sense of the word, İstanbul My Love offers more than a storyline—it offers a vibe. Set across the Bosphorus, Karaköy rooftops, and the historic corridors of Beyoğlu, this series doesn’t just take place in Istanbul—it is Istanbul.
Plot Snapshot: Can Love Be Programmed?
Afra Saraçoğlu plays a bold entrepreneur building an AI designed to decode romantic compatibility. Her theory? Love can be engineered. Enter Tan, a skeptical venture capitalist who agrees to beta test the program—on one condition: if the algorithm makes him fall in love, he’ll fund her dream.
What follows is a high-stakes emotional journey through three algorithmically guided dates, each revealing more about the city, their pasts, and whether hearts are better left analog.
Why İstanbul My Love Redefines Cultural Promotion
1. Cinematic Strategy, Global Impact
- GoTürkiye once again replaces ads with art, packaging tourism as a binge-worthy mini-series.
- Episodes are optimized for digital audiences and cross-platform virality.
- Subtitled in multiple languages to target the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.
2. Istanbul as a Narrative Engine
From the domes of Süleymaniye to the industrial elegance of Galataport, Istanbul is both set and soul of the series.
Featured Locations:
| Landmark | Role in the Series |
|---|---|
| Çırağan Palace | Scene of an AI-predicted first kiss |
| Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) | Where art and tech collide |
| Karaköy + Galataport | The city’s youthful, bohemian edge |
| Bosphorus | Emotional turning point across the water |
| Beyoğlu alleys | A walk through memory and reinvention |
3. Luxury, Heritage, and Tech—Unified in a Modern Vision
- AI as a metaphor for control in love—mirroring how travelers try to “optimize” experiences
- Juxtaposes Istanbul’s ancient texture with its smart-city aspirations
- Crosses traditional romance with philosophical futurism—where emotions meet data
Istanbul: A City That Writes Its Own Scripts
Founded over 2,500 years ago, Istanbul has played many roles—Byzantium, Constantinople, Ottoman capital, and now, a 21st-century mega-hub. In İstanbul My Love, these layers converge, showing the city as complex and evolving, much like the characters that traverse it.
Notable Sites Embedded in the Plot:
- Galata Tower: A symbol of longing, seen from both sides of the Golden Horn
- Rixos Tersane: A modern marvel echoing Ottoman shipyards
- AKM Taksim: Where culture meets code in a powerful monologue
- Hidden cafes in Cihangir: Reflecting Istanbul’s indie, soulful dimension
Why This Model Works: Insights for Modern Tourism Boards
İstanbul My Love builds on a proven formula established in Antalya Gambit, offering a template for how tourism can be sold not just through places, but through people, emotion, and story. This season expands the strategy:
Key Lessons:
- Episodic fiction increases retention and emotional investment.
- Short-form mobile content targets digital-first travelers.
- Multilingual, multicultural casting and subtitles broaden global access.
- Thematic integration—AI, love, heritage—creates lasting impact.
Viewership & Cultural Buzz
Since its June 2025 release, İstanbul My Love has generated:
- Over 3.2 million views across social platforms in its first week
- 80K+ interactions on Instagram Reels and TikTok
- Global press coverage from outlets in the UK, UAE, Germany, and Latin America
The pairing of Afra and Engin—already beloved across continents—only supercharged the campaign’s emotional reach and virality.
Where to Watch
Streaming Free on:
GoTürkiye Official YouTube Channel
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Arabic, and more
İstanbul Isn’t Just a City—It’s a Feeling
By weaving fiction into fact and turning promotional content into prestige entertainment, İstanbul My Love doesn’t just market Istanbul—it mythologizes it. As GoTürkiye ushers in a new era of experiential travel promotion, this series proves that the heart of a destination beats loudest in its stories.
Ready to fall in love with Istanbul all over again?
Watch the full series now and explore Türkiye through a lens where love meets logic, and every street tells a secret.
