Muslim entrepreneur opens restaurant inspired by 'Ertugrul' in India

The legendary Turkish series “Resurrection: Ertugrul,” known across the globe as the Muslim Games of Thrones, with hardcore fans from Paris to Pakistan fawning over everything from costumes to whirlwind romances, has now conquered India as well.

A Muslim entrepreneur, a self-proclaimed fan of the drama, has now opened up a restaurant called "Ertugrul Mandi" inspired by the historical epic in India's Hyderabad, the capital of the southern state of Telangana.

The signboard and the interior of the restaurant are decorated with a spate of pictures of the drama's leading actors and actresses, including Engin Altan Düzyatan who stars as the titular character Ertugrul, and Esra Bilgiç who plays Halime Sultan.

The owner, Javid Khan, says that the locals of Hyderabad follow the series religiously, and the area is often frequented by Arab tourists.

Even though the diner's name is inspired by a Turkish show, it does not serve any Turkish cuisine as of yet.

Often described as the Turkish Game of Thrones, the series depicts 13th century Anatolia and tells the story before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. It illustrates the struggle of Ertugrul Ghazi, father of the empire's first leader.

The record-breaking historical drama has also taken Pakistanis by storm, passing 10 million subscribers on its Urdu YouTube channel.

PTV dubbed the series in Urdu after Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Turkey last year and was informed about the importance of the series.

On April 25, coinciding with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, PTV aired the first episode of the popular Turkish TV series, highlighting the history of Muslims during the 13th century.

Shortly after the 45-minute long first episode was broadcast, #ErtugrulUrduPTV was trending with viewers welcoming the series as they shared scenes from the first episode on social media.