The Forced Marriage - Haymur (#Ask Laftan Anlamaz)

Main Character's Profile and Family Background

The Sarsilmaz

The affluent yet traditional Turkish family settled in the UK for the last 3 generations. Halusi Sarsilmaz from a renowned tailoring family migrates to the UK with his young wife Azime and started up a chain of tailoring stores which has been upgraded and uplifted by their children. The current generation of Sarsilmaz have further expanded and now they are one of the most renowned brands in the fashion industry - SARTE. Even though they are super rich, they still abide by all the old traditional values and still live together as one big family in their Sarsilmaz Mansion. Since the Sarsilmaz daughter and son in law died in a car crash, their children (Kerem & Tuval) together with Nejat's children (Murat, Ibrahim and Doruk) are brought up together as siblings. All 5 of the Sarsilmaz grandchildren are well provided for and have equal shares across all the property and businesses - in fact their grandfather has even set up trust funds for all of their future offspring's.

The Uzuns

The middle class family that have had to work hard to not fall into the poverty lines. Hashmet Uzun and his wife Turkan had to migrate due to financial woes. Hashmet's culinary skills got him a job as a cook in one of the restaurants in London. Eventually, he managed to get into the food industry as a kebab shop owner. He never had help from his sons as both of them were quite useless. Luckily, he has loyal, hardworking and caring daughters in laws who currently help him with the shop. His eldest son left his wife and children and has not returned while his second son died in a car crash. Hashmet also plays a strong role in all 5 of his grandchildren's lives as both his sons are not there as father figures. 

Character's Profiles

Murat - The eldest grandson of the Sarsilmaz and the most responsible of all. Although he is a finance whiz he has a knack for fashion as well. He is the CEO of SARTE ever since Nejat decided to handover. He has a quick temper and extremely disciplined in most matters. A strict boss and workaholic but very principled and fair. He does not believe in romantic love and and has trust issues with outsiders as he has had to deal with many gold diggers and evil characters trying to cause harm to the family. Since he has very strong orthodox views on marriage, he prefers to have short term affairs with super models who agree to his terms and conditions - as he has yet to find a docile, obedient wife. He is very loyal to his family and will  protect his loved ones at all costs.

Hayat - The third grandchild in the Uzun family. Hayat have always had a little of a middle child syndrome as her elder sister Didem was always the centre of attraction and her younger sister Ipek was the genius with the good grades. Hayat just completed her degree in creative arts and had to work part time even during collage as she could not obtain a full scholarship like her younger sister. By nature, Hayat is a down to earth, humble, jovial and very helpful person. She is a romantic and hopes to fall in love with someone who will cherish her. She can be childish at times but she has a very lovable character that can cheer up the people around her. Her biggest problem is her stubbornness and temper. And at times she trusts people easily and gets hurt.

Kerem - Murat's aunt's son. He is the same age as Murat but younger by months. Him and Murat were sent to the same university but Kerem opted for computer sciences. He heads the Operations and the IT departments in the company.  He oversees the hotels and online businesses. Kerem has a very strong bond with Murat and looks up to him at all times. Due to his part nerdy character, he hardly has had a girlfriend and is very shy of girls.

Ipek - Hayat's youngest sister who is 1 year her junior. Ipek has the best brains amongst the Uzun family. She managed to go through a full scholarship in the London School of Economics. She is majoring in Economy and Finance and has high hopes to join any big corporate company and uplift her family. She loves her family a lot but she has trouble showing love as she has always been more of a tomboy.

Cemil - Hayat's eldest brother and the only Uzun grandson. He tries to manage all the family issues but he is always bogged down with too much as he has so many sisters and family to care for. He works as a government servant and wants to upgrade himself but has been unable to do so as he needs to provide for the family. A protective brother and son who cares a lot for his family and sacrifices all the time. Has remained single even though he just turned 32.

Tuval - The eldest Sarsilmaz grandchild and only granddaughter. She is the head of Designs and Creatives in Sarte as she studied designing from Paris. She loves all her siblings and being the only sister, is able to advise and intervene in all their lives. She is still not married even though she has turned 30 as she had a bad experience a few years back (will be elaborated in the story)

Doruk - The youngest grandson in the Sarsilmaz house. The most pampered. Just finished studies and about to join Sarte, but prefers his laid back playboy life. He loves playing pranks but knows how to uplift his family whenever anyone is in a bad mood. A very caring and fun young man.

Asli - Hayat's cousin who is 2 years younger than Ipek. She is currently as a student nurse in a nearby hospital. Asli went through nursing school and will be completing soon. She is a very caring and sensitive person. She looks up to Hayat and Ipek. She is easily bullied as she has a very gentle and forgiving nature.

Ibrahim - Murat's second brother who is a terrible playboy and the black sheep of the family. He has had a lot of negative influence from Emre (Derya's son who used to be his classmate). Ibrahim dropped out of university but yet he held the Sales and Marketing department in Sarte. He was a sweet talker who could easily get any girl he wanted.

Didem - Hayat's older sister and a clothes Model. She was hired in Sarte as the lead Model and her biggest ambition is to be a top super model and hook a rich guy. She is quite vain and is very embarrassed of her family and their social status. She never divulges any information related to her family as she tries to portray a rich lifestyle. 

Emre - Derya's only son from her 1st marriage. He has his own modelling company. He hates the Sarsilmaz and is always finding ways to bring their downfall. He is the same age as Ibrahim and used to be his classmate. Emre is evil personified and will stoop to any levels to destroy the Sarsilmaz due to Derya.

Derya - Laila's (murat's mother) school friend who came for help after her husband deserted her with her 12 year old son. Laila took pity on her plight and initially allowed her to live in their guesthouse which is on their property. Derya managed to seduce Nejat but under no circumstance will Nejat agree to marry Derya. This has caused Derya a lot of anger and she wishes to destroy the family as Nejat is very particular about his family reputation. Nejat has been keeping his affair a secret but Laila does know about it but pretends to turn a blind eye as she wants her children to be happy.

So what do you think so far ?