Bab Al Hara

Overview

Bab Al-Hara aired during Ramadan and forms part of the emerging modern tradition of the Ramadan soap opera. The Arab satellite channels broadcast special programming every night during Ramadan to try to capture audiences from among the families who have gathered together to eat and break the fast.

Directed by Bassam al-Mulla and broadcast on MBC, the first installment of the series, comprising 31 episodes, aired during Ramadan in 2006 and enjoyed broad viewership and a positive reception. The second installment, entitled Bab al-Hara 2, was highly anticipated, receiving even wider acclaim in Ramadan of 2007. A third installment to be aired in Ramadan of 2008 was officially announced on al-Arabiya channel in October 2007, and will focus on the post-marriage lives of the children of Abu Issam, the local doctor and barber.

Like many of the most recent popular Arabic series, Bab al-Hara is a Syrian production, financed by the Gulf-state satellite channels. It reflects a new trend representing the shift of Arabic media dominance away from the Egyptians to the Syrians.

Two more Bab al-Hara seasons were aired in Ramadan 2009 and 2010, Bab al-Hara 4 and 5 were produced directly after each other just like Bab al-Hara 1 and 2. This was announced just after airing 10 episodes of Bab al-Hara 3 after realizing that Bab al-Hara 3 was able to keep its audience and not decline in ratings. It is obvious that MBC will be the channel to broadcast the series during the next 2 years, although this year they did give the rights to Libya Al-Shababiya (Libya Youth Channel) to broadcast Bab al-Hara 3 at the same time of airing it in MBC.

Historical context

Bab al-Hara takes place in the 1930s, a time when the Middle East was colonized by Western powers. Syria was under French control and Palestine – where some of the neighborhood men go to fight at the end of the second installment of the series – was British-occupied. Bab al-Hara depicts the last moments of Syrian society as it existed in its centuries-old Ottoman era make-up, just prior to the transition into colonial and post-colonial modernity. The series' hearkening back to this era partially explains its massive popularity, an expression of the Arab world's nostalgia and yearning for a simple, more dignified time before the cataclysmic turmoil and cultural identity crisis ushered in by the colonial period.

Background

Bab al-Hara is based on an interpretation of life in the old city of Damascus. Every neighborhood, or hara, has its own mukhtar, a chosen older man held in high regard. The Mukhtar was typically selected based on his background and involvement in the local area. He relied on a group of neighborhood men to support him in his role. This group, along with the Mukhtar, formed a central unit responsible for overseeing the community (hara) and making decisions regarding its welfare. Wealthier individuals within the group financed the Mukhtar's initiatives, influencing how the funds were allocated, whether for public renovations, charitable donations to the poor, or reserves for emergencies. Members generally were of the mercantile class, having steady incomes from having shops or businesses, such as barber shops, bakeries, smiths, ghouta, groceries or other merchant activities.

List of characters

Family of Abu Issam

Family of Abu Hatem

Family of Abu Zafer

Family of Abu Bashir

Family of Abu Khater

Family of Abu Ibrahim

Family of Abu Dibo

Family of Abu Shehab

Family of Abu Salim

Family of Abu Bader

Family of Ida3shiri

Family of the Za3im

Men of Abu Nar

Haret al-Yehud

Other Characters

Season 8 Characters