Arab ladies step aside: Turkish TV hunk Kivanc Tatlitug has tied the knot with former Miss World

Turkish actor Kivanc Tatlitug, better known as “Muhannad” the romantic hero who stars in popular Turkish soap operas, has tied the knot with former Miss World Azra Akin.

Turkish newspapers reported on Friday that Tatlitug had informed his parents of his will to marry Akin on their return from a romantic holiday in Holland, Akin’s birthplace.

The couple’s relationship started in 2002, when Akin won the title of Miss World, but they broke up in 2008, then got together in 2011 before splitting in February 2012, but it seems that they are determined to have a successful relationship on their third try. 

Akin was crowned Miss Turkey in 2002.

Tatlitug starred in gained his popularity in the Arab world through the Turkish dubbed series “Noor” and “Al-Ashek Al-Mamnou’” (forbidden love).

Turkish television melodramas have swept the Arab world with their racy episodes of drama, romance and controversy. In some cases, they have become an obsession for Arab audiences causing them sometimes to shun Arabic soap operas.

The Turkish TV shows, which are crammed with taboos subjects such as alcohol, premarital sex and abortion. These subjects aren’t typically featured in Arabic-language television shows.

“Noor,” (originally titled Gumus in Turkish) was the first Turkish soap opera dubbed in Arabic. It told a rags-to-riches story of a woman who married into a wealthy family but was rejected by her husband, who had another love interest.

When it first aired on Arab satellite channels, “Noor” attracted more than 85 million Arab viewers above the age of 15 — nearly 50 million of them were women, according to a report in 2011 cited by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Those 50 million are the equivalent to more than half of the adult Arab female viewers of any Arab TV drama in recent years.