Bozdag Film Studios

About Bozdag Film Studios

Bozdag Film Studios is the working set where the Turkish historical dramas Ertugrul and Osman were filmed, out in Riva on the Black Sea side of Beykoz, northeast of central Istanbul. It's not a museum in the usual sense. The main draws are the full-scale sets built for the shows: the reconstructed Kayi tribe camp with its round tents, plus the stone palaces and castles that stood in for the medieval world of the early Ottomans. If you've watched either series, walking through the actual locations where scenes were shot is the whole point, and even if you haven't, it works as a hands-on look at how a period drama gets staged.

Because it sits well outside the old city, most people come as part of a full-day guided trip rather than turning up on their own. A guide is genuinely useful here, since a lot of what makes the sets interesting is the real history behind the shows, the story of the Kayi tribe and the founding of the Ottoman state, which the sets themselves don't explain. Many day tours build in extras beyond the walk-through: trying archery, having a go at ironsmithing, and tasting sherbet, a sweet traditional Turkish drink. Lunch at a local restaurant is commonly included too, which matters given how far the site is from the city center.

Plan for the travel time as much as the visit itself. Riva is a fair drive from Sultanahmet or Taksim, so a trip out here usually eats most of a day, and it doesn't naturally pair with the old-city landmarks the way sites inside the peninsula do. Dress for being outdoors and on your feet, since the sets are spread across open ground and there's a fair bit of walking. If you're booking independently rather than on a tour, it's worth checking current visiting arrangements before you go, as access to a working set can change.