SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Napoleon said if the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital. But no one could accuse Istanbul of being stuck in the past. Alongside the history and culture exists a media savvy generation creating a vibrant art scene and a lucrative new business sector for Turkey. Here in a bohemian neighborhood of Istanbul, the crew is filming the 44th episode of Turkey's smash hit television drama series Parum Parcha (ph).</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sales (inaudible) in the Turkish market is not sufficient for us to survive, that's very clear. So we have to export it. We exactly know how you can sell it, which elements you need to involve. There's mathematics behind it. We call it script engineering. There's love, there's intrigue, there's rich life of people. The script is flowing very well. The episodes, episodes, episodes, it's not just steady. It's a living story.</s>MOHSIN: Parum Parcha (ph) profits nearly half a million dollars per episode from global distribution.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We're selling dramas to people of the countries who share, more or less, the same spirit as we do: Latin America, Far East, Balkans, Russia, hopefully we'll be able to sell to the U.S. too.</s>MOHSIN: Parum Parcha (ph) is not an exceptional case. Turkish TV drama as an industry is a world leader in distribution.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year apart from English spoken countries or English spoken products, Turkish products are number one. We exceeded the Spanish spoken scripted series even in Latin America. Turkey's series are number one now.</s>MOHSIN: Turkish story lines appeal to the sensibilities of eastern and western audiences and as a result growth in the sector has been as dramatic as the plot lines. Export figures seven years ago were $100,000. In 2015, they were $280 million, making the Turkish TV industry an embodiment of the new Silk Road, spreading culture along the old trade lines, but this time broadcast into the homes of millions.
Turkey's Hot Television Dramas. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET