CAIRO, 26 September 2006 — The television serials of Yahya Al-Fakhrani, Nur Al-Sharif, Ilham Shahin and Hussein Fahmi, which address social issues and the evils of violence, have so far been the most popular on Egyptian television channels during this Ramadan season, the Al-Jazirah daily reported yesterday.
The leading soaps in Syria this Ramadan are: “Khaled ibn Waleed” a film based on the legendary warrior of early Islamic history directed by Muhammad Azizah, and the “Amin and Mamun,” about the opulent caliphs of Baghdad in the eight century directed by Shauqi Al-Majri.
The Gulf region has risen to the challenge of these traditional heavyweights in Arab soap operas by producing more serials locally than ever before.
Another feature of the season is the growing trend of female stars wearing the hijab. They include Sohair Al-Babily in “Halb Habiba,” Sohair Ramzi in “Habib Al-Rouh” and Hannan Turk in “Awlad Al-Shawarie”.