Ramadan "Must See TV"

Many aspects of the Ramadan holidays are similar to our holidays back home. We always look forward to special TV shows during Christmas, etc. and it is the same over here. For example, the show Al Masrawiyah tells the story of the mayor of a small town in Egypt and his relationship with his three wives, his powerful mother and his reign over the town. This Ramadan we will see two parts of this five-part soap opera. The mayor, who is a poor Egyptian farmer and already has two wives, will marry a half-Turkish, half-Egyptian princess. This show is billed as "a classic story that can never get old". Okay....then why only five parts? The show "Dallas" went on for years and there was only one Sue Ellen in that series.

Another popular show is Sultan Al Gharam (aka the Sultan of Passion). Although "completely different" from Al Masrawiyah, the series is also about a man who marries three women. This time he is a poor truck driver who gradually becomes rich and powerful. He does not marry the women at the same time but in different stages of his life.

I'm thinking that polygamy must be a perfect topic for sitcoms. I'm sure HBO will want to pick up on these story lines in time for the holidays and adapt it to American TV...maybe call it "Santa's Harem" or "It's a Wonderful Wife," part 1, 2 and 3.

Another popular game show comes on at Ramadan "prime time" (about 2.15am) when you are getting ready to have your last meal, "sohour", and go back to bed. This show has a taxi that goes around the streets of Egypt picking up passengers. When a passenger gets in, the game show host takes him toward his destination while asking a series of $10, $50, $100 and $500 questions. If the passenger gets three answers wrong, they are immediately dropped off in the middle of the street. Talk about a great reality TV show...can Regis drive a taxi?

Also, on the subject of entertainment, a new movie has recently been released in the States called The Kingdom. It is about Saudi Arabia, but it was shot in Arizona and, believe it or not, Abu Dhabi . When I first arrived in Abu Dhabi, I noticed armored vehicles and tanks on the streets; I thought this was just a normal day, but found out that Jaime Foxx was in town to film. Jaime eventually left and the tanks were soon replaced by the usual BMWs, Porsches & Rolls Royces.