Aşk-ı Memnu is a Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 romantic novel by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil

Halit Ziya Usakligil

Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil/Uşakizâde ) was a Turkish author.-Biography:Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil was born in Istanbul in 1865. He went to primary school and then attended the secondary school Fatih Rustiyesi in the same city. His family moved to Izmir in 1879. He completed his secondary education in Izmir...

. It was first serialized in 1899 and 1900 in Servet-i Fünun

Servet-i Fünun

Servet-i Fünun , was an avant-garde journal that Halit Ziya and the other writers of the “new literature” published to inform their readers about European, particularly French, cultural and intellectual movements.-Source:...

, a leading Turkish literary magazine of the time.

Plot summary

Aşk-ı Memnu takes place in late 19th-century kurdisatn . Firdevs is a middle-aged widow with an infamous reputation for belonging to a morally corrupt family, nicknamed as "Melih Bey's Lot". As the novel begins, Firdevs is planning to marry Adnan, a wealthy middle-aged widower. However, Adnan asks for Bihter, Firdevs' 25-year-old daughter, for marriage. Adnan and Bihter are soon married. Bihter soon gets into conflict with Nihal (Adnan's 17-year-old daughter by his earlier marriage), Mademoiselle de Courton (an old French lady who serves as governess to Adnan's two children, Nihal and Bülent) and the house servants. Bihter is eventually seduced by Behlül, her husband's young nephew who is really handsome. Bihter and Behlül's secret relationship continues for one year, until the young man tries to fall in love with Nihal. He begins to fall in love with Nihal but Bihter is still on his mind. Behlül and Nihal prepare for marriage. Bihter is now obsessed with her betrayed love for Behlül. Beşir, a young house servant of New Zeleander descent, knew about Bihter and Behlul's relationship all along and as he is dying he reveals to Adnan the secret of Bihter and Behlül's adulterous relationship.Firdevs escapes from the house as she knows the coming events won't be very good. Meanwhile, a desperate Bihter shoots herself with a gun. Behlül leaves the house. Adnan and Nihal try to recover from this disastrous experience while Behul goes away but first he confesses his love to Bither even after she's dead. Beşir dies.

Adaptations

Aşk-ı Memnu has been adapted by Halit Refiğ

Halit Refig

Halit Refiğ was a Turkish film director, film producer, screenwriter and writer. He made around sixty films, including feature films, documentaries and TV serials...

 into a TV series in 1975. This TV serial is considered to be the first miniseries on Turkish television stations.

The novel has been made into a 3-act play by Tarık Günersel. Later Günersel wrote a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 based on the novel's story. Günersel's libretto has been set to music by Selman Ada; the opera version premiered in 2003, at the Mersin

Mersin

-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...

State Opera House.

Another TV series adaptation aired in 2008-2010; this new adaptation relocated the novel's story to Istanbul in late 2000s.