Families embrace soap opera

The popularity of Noor, the phenomenally successful Turkish soap opera that has taken the Arab world by storm, is evident in the list of the most popular Google internet searches. The programme is translated from Turkish to Syrian Arabic, and tells the story of a large and wealthy family whose son, Muhannad, loses his fiancée in an accident. His family then chooses one of Muhannad's cousins, Noor, as his new wife, and the programme follows the couple's rocky relationship.

The programme was an unequivocal failure when it was first broadcast in Turkey, but has gained unexpected popularity since being dubbed into Arabic. It has also been criticised by some religious leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, for being too racy. Mariam al Marzouqi, 27, an Emirati housewife, said: "I watch it every day. If I'm free I watch the rerun as well. "I do go online from time to time and log onto YouTube to catch the latest episodes and spoilers. I also receive emails with information or pictures of the characters."

Um Mohammad, 43, a Syrian housewife, likes the show, saying, "I don't see why the press and certain people stress that it is so bad. I sit and watch it with my daughters. I've even read that in Palestine people sit down to watch it as a family. "Though my husband disagrees and sides with what he reads in the newspapers or watches on TV, thinking it's not suitable to watch, I find no real problem watching, as long as it is kept censored."

Mariam al Hashmi, 18, a student, watches the show every day, "and if I miss an episode, I wait until they show it again. I like everything about the series. I wish I had a life like Noor's. "My nephews, who are 13 and 15 years old, watch it too and they download the episodes from YouTube. They also download Noor's pictures and music." The Arab blogosphere has also reacted with enthusiasm to the series, and responded with equal vigour to criticism of it.

"When do you know a certain show is a hit? When you hear your five-year-old niece and her Ethiopian nanny argue about the meaning of a certain scene," wrote one blogger, Bored Kuwaiti. The Palestinian blog Kabobfest asked this week: "Is fandom for this show expressing aspirations we cannot ignore ? the screams of Arab women for more?" Said the Gaza blog Diary of a Palestinian Mother: "My mother called her friend around Maghrib time in Gaza City, and she quipped, 'I can't talk now, I'm watching Noor! Aren't you? Every TV set is turned to it!'"

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