The Cairo Guide to Radio Shows in Ramadan
Rehab Loay
Egyptian radio channels are in full gear
for the holy month of Ramadan, with a full schedule of Ramadan-themed talk
shows and series to keep you entertained throughout the hours. The radio series will inevitably take inspiration from the January 25th revolution and many of the social problems that
Egyptians are currently facing, while other shows will range from religious
lectures and recitations to talk shows covering various topics.
Egyptian
State Radio
Al Kamelia Wal Romman (The Camelia and the Pomegranate) is a radio series starring Nelly Karim and Ahmed El Sakka. The series focuses on the events in Egypt from 1981 until January 25th 2011. The series consists of 30 episodes, each of which is only 15 minutes long. The stories will be a mixture of social dramas, romance and detective stories. Written by Mostafa Ibrahim and directed by Ismail Abdel Fatah, it is based on a novel by Amr Abdel Samea.
El
A’ela Wal Qasr (The Family and The Palace) is a
radio series starring Farouk El Fishawy, Ahmed Maher and Maaly Zayed about the
events of January 25th told from the perspective of a family struggling to survive
in a slum area. The
series consists of fifteen episodes, each of which is 15 minutes long. The
script is written by Basem Adel, and the series is directed by Hanem Azab.
Deek
El Nahar (Morning Rooster) is a series starring
Ashraf Abdel Baqy and Intesar about a young man who returns from studying
medicine abroad to his village. Nicknamed ‘The Morning Rooster’ as a kid at
school for drawing roosters on walls, he returns to Egypt to try to save the people of his village and solve their conflicts. The series is directed by
Ayman Fatiha and consists of 15 episodes, each of which is 15 minutes long.
Nogoom
FM Radio Station:
Qalqan
Fi Masr (Worried in Egypt) is a social comedy
starring Mohamed Heneidy and Hend Sabry about a Southern Egyptian man called
Haridy who loses his post as the mayor of his village and heads to Cairo
looking for a job. There he meets and falls in love with an aristocratic woman
called Jana, and of course, all mayhem ensues.
El
Bahara El Talata (The Three Sailors) stars Ahmed
Fahmy, Shiko and Hesham Maged, the writers and stars of Wara’et Shafra.
Lazem
Baba Yeheb (Baba Must Love) stars Yehia El
Fakharany, Shery Adel and Yasmine Rahmy. El Fakharany plays a father dealing
with the sudden death of his wife, as his children try to help him move on and
find another love.
Mosbah
Alaa El Din (Aladdin’s Lamp) stars Ahmed Ezz, Nour
and Salah Abdallah. The fantasy series revolves around a young man who finds Aladdin’s
lamp and tries to make his dreams and aspirations come true, yet he keeps finding
obstacles in his way. He soon realises that the lamp can’t make his dreams come
true, as the fault lies in humankind.
Al
Sharq Al Awsat (Middle East) Broadcasting Service
Fares
Men El Zaman El Gameel (Knight from a Beautiful
Time) stars Mostafa Amar and Dalia El Beheiry and tells the story of a
protective father who rejects his daughter’s suitor’s offer in marriage despite
being a wealthy relative. In the meantime, she has fallen in love with her university
classmate. The father has a criteria of principles that his daughter’s
husband must have, including bravery, honesty and trustworthiness, so he sets
up a series of tests that the wealthy relative and the classmate must pass to
win his daughter’s hand. The series is directed by Montasser El Sobaky and
consists of 30 episodes, 15 minutes each.
El
Shabab Wel Riada Radio Network (Youth and Sports)
Othman
El Hady Asher (Othman the Eleventh) stars Ahmed
Rizk, Maha Ahmed, Inaam Salousa and Alaa Zenhom among others. The radio series
focuses on a group of university graduates who can’t find work and try to buy a
piece of land to start an agricultural project. This leads to them being wrongfully
arrested by State Security, and jailed and tortured for three days. Upon being
released, the group start a Facebook group and a youth movement. The series is
directed by Abdel Maqsoud Mohamed and consists of 30 episodes, each of which is
15 minutes long.
Maktab
Om Atrees Lel Zawag El Hadeeth (Om Atrees for
Modern Marriage) stars Hanan Motawaa and Aisha El Kilany. Om Atrees decides to
open up a marriage service to make some easy cash even if it’s at the expense
of lonely spinsters and desperate men. The thirty episodes are only
five-minutes long, and are directed by Amr Diab.
Soot
El Arab (Voice of The Arabs) Radio Channel
Naar
we Nour (Fire and Light) is a series starring
Samira Abdel Aziz, Wael Nour, Galal El Sharqawy and Hanan Shawki about a group
of young Egyptians that are being spied on by Amn Dawla officers because
they’re studying the Egyptian constitution and want to know their rights. The
events continue until the January 25th uprising and are based on the
novel Thawra by Nabil Farouk. The
thirty episodes are fifteen-minutes-long each and are directed by Yosreya Ali.
‘El
Ha’er Mamnoun We Tabea Meymoon’ (Confused Mamnoun and his follower Meymoon)
stars Salah Abdalla, Ahmed Bedeir, Hanan Motawa and Ahmed Rezq. The thirty
episodes are 15-minutes long and are a modern-day adaptation of A Thousand and One Nights in a social
comedy. The series is directed by Abdel Al Dawa and written by Mahmoud Ali.
Doaa
Non El Nour (The
Prayer of Non and Light) is presented by Mamdouh Affifi, Amani Ahmed, Khaled El
Zahaby and Iman Imam. The 10-minute-long episodes follow the life and sayings
of the Prophet Mohamed PBUH.
Fi
Nour El Koran (In The Light of the Koran) is a
five-minute-long series that will be aired on Wadi El Nil and Soot El Arab
stations about the Koran’s principles and the ethics and principles of Muslims.
The series stars Ashraf Abdel Ghafour and Mohamed Wafiq.
El
Thaqatheya Radio Station
Tawfiq
El Hakim: Raheb El Fekr (Tawfiq El Hakim: The Monk
of Thought) the 30-episode series stars Kamal Abo Reeh and Hanan Motawa about
the life of Tawfiq El Hakim, one of Egypt’s most iconic literature figures of
modern times.
El
Qahera El Kobra (Greater Cairo) Radio Station
Hadath
Fi Beit El Qady (It Happened in the Judge’s House)
stars Ezzet El Alaily, Sawsan Badr and Mohamed Metwally in a social drama about
Mahmoud El Nady, a judge who thinks that he’s raised his children to the upmost
moral principles, only to discover that one son has become a religious
fundamentalist, while the other is living a hedonistic life of debauchery.
Alexandria
Radio Broadcasting
Sit
El Donia (Beauty
of the World) is a symbolic social drama about Egypt and focuses on the
struggle between morally conscious Egyptians and corrupt officials. The series
consists of 30 episodes, each of which is fifteen-minutes-long.
Om
Saeed Dot Com is a social comedy about a woman
called Om Saeed who lives in a small alley of Alexandria and suddenly discovers
Facebook and the internet.
Wasat
El Delta (Central Delta) Radio Station
El
Fagr El Gedeed, Donia El Amal (A New Dawn, A World of Hope) is a series of
30 episodes directed by Abdel Moneim Nasef and focuses on the ambitions of
young Egyptians in building a future in this country.