Sartaj Singh
‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ centers on the eponymous hotel as it takes us back in time to a pivotal period in Turkey’s history. The narrative follows Esra, a young journalist who visits the Pera Palace Hotel to write about it for its 130th anniversary. As she marvels at its history, little does Esra know that one of the rooms serves as a time-traveling portal when using a mysterious key.
Esra accidentally travels back in time to 1919, the year in which the Turkish War of Independence began. Thrown into a world of politics and espionage, she has to ensure that the historical timeline remains undisturbed. Crafted by Sam Anzel, Kelly McPherson, and Emre Sahin, the show is inspired by Charles King’s 2014 historical non-fiction book, ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul.’ Also known as ‘Pera Palas’ta Gece Yarisi,’ the Turkish Netflix historical drama renders a striking recreation of early 20th-century Istanbul as well as the titular hotel.
Midnight at the Pera Palace Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, which depicts its historical self with a combination of on-location filming and the use of constructed sets and studios. The first season was filmed over four and a half months, and the production team had to pause in between due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the time, director Nisan Dag wore a mask while shooting and found relaying her direction to the cast difficult because of partially concealed facial expressions. The hotel had also been closed due to the pandemic, giving the team easy access and perfect set conditions. Principal photography for the second season began on July 12, 2023, and was wrapped up by the fall of the same year.
Istanbul, Turkey
‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ is shot entirely in and around Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. While the iconic architecture of the city is seen in the modern-day sequences of the film, most of the past sequences are shot in elaborately created sets. It is the same case with the storied Pera Palace Pera Palace Hotel. Located at Evliya Çelebi, Meşrutiyet Caddesi, the hotel is known not only for its luxurious and opulent architecture but also for its historical importance during pivotal periods of change in Istanbul, including the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of modern Turkey.
Throughout its existence, the hotel has housed numerous illustrious figures, from royalty to spies, including the legendary Agatha Christie. The room in which the author supposedly stayed and wrote ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’ is still maintained by the establishment as a cherished part of its past. While the hotel may be historical, it has been renovated several times since its construction and could not be used as a version of its past self for filming. On-location filming at the hotel in season 1 only included shooting the modern-day hotel sequences and the ball segment, which happens to be director Emre Sahin’s favorite to film. Thus, the actual hotel features minimally in the show and is instead created from scratch in a laborious process within the team’s own vision.
The enormous hotel set consists of an internal and an external set. Even the streets of 1919 Istanbul are created by the production team, who prefer the controlled environment of their studio over finding authentic looking real-world locations. Despite this, the directors are committed to recreating the historical landscape as accurately as possible with a minimum use of digital effects. Thus, they build extensive props and sets and deliberately cover much of the backdrops with some dust and dirt, as was common for streets of the time. The unique cityscape of Turkey can be seen in the background of notable films like ‘The Night Manager,’ ‘Aftersun,’ ‘Skyfall,’ and both the ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ movies.
Read More: Timelines and Time Travel in Midnight at the Pera Palace, Explained
