Rigal Al Hasim: Exciting New Ramadan Series!

This new and exciting Ramadan drama currently airs on Abu Dhabi TV at 23:00 KSA time. It stars Basil Khayat, a Syrian actor, and Maya Nasri, a Lebanese actress/singer. The show includes actors from Syria, Lebanon and many more Arab countries.

What grabbed my attention to this series is the plot. The whole drama revolves around the Arab-Israeli conflict, but precisely, Syrian-Israeli conflict about the Golan Heights. The series begins in 1967. From the promos and ads, Rigal al Hasim is beautifully shot in real-life locations in the Golan Heights, West Bank, and I think Israel. Many actors and actresses also learned a little Hebrew in their work and research.

Now the first episode introduces us to the life of Fares (Basil Khayat) who is a Golani. He is a teacher in a school and is a young man that is very interested in politics. His lifestyle is depicted as simple, yet his mind is complex. The Six Day War is about to begin and everyone is afraid of the consequences. The heads of state are very confident of a victory yet the people are worried.

By the third episode, the 1967 War began and the tragedies unfolded right at the start. Part of Fares' family is dead, his younger brother and mother. His father and sister are left and prepare to leave for Damascus. Fares chooses to stay behind and fight the war. He can't leave his home for the Israelis to come and occupy it. His bravery is shown during the fighting sequences when he chooses to risk his life to help many wounded soldiers. His determination to fight for his homeland also shows.

I'm very excited about the rest of this show, and I wait for it by the minute. What do you think of Rigal al Hasim? Are you currently watching it? I'll try to summarize each episode in a small post everyday as to keep those of you who are unable to watch it updated!

Kasr al Hob: The Movie

As I promised you yesterday, I was going to put up a summary of the Asmali Konan: Hayat movie. This explains the foggy ending of the series and how they left the audience hanging at Maram and Husam's departure. Well let us begin. But please know that I did not understand all of the events that were happening in the movie.

In the beginning, the movie starts out with a vivid dream. The only problem is, I don't know who's dreaming it. Twisted events occur in this dream, Husam is hitting Maram, after Maram sees that Najla's son is also the son of Husam. Then Maram goes into a deep sleep and it was all so vivid, and surreal. Those are the best words to describe it.

After that, Maram is seen in the hospital, with her head all shaved and in a coma. The doctors see that the cancer is actually declining while she is in the coma, which is a source of happiness for the staff. Husam, however, is nowhere to be seen. Maram seems to be shot and her husband is suspected of this, because of his disappearance.

When that is explained, Husam is shown to be in a homeless gathering, his hair very long and dirty, and an overall different look than your used to. He's going crazy, shouting, and yelling and laughing. He seems like he doesn't remember anything at all of his past life.

After intensive searching and investigating in Husam's disappearance, they are able to find him. And what I mean by they is Alia Beik and Bakir, who were visiting Maram at the time. Just as he seemed, Husam doesn't know anyone and doesn't remember anything. So a psychologist helps him. But when he starts remembering, everything is backward. Maram is with Yamen, and Najla is Husam's wife. He hates Maram with all his heart for some reason I did not understand.

He starts imagining or actually living in the past of when they first came to New York for treatment. He remembers how much he loved Maram, and they're relationship during that short time. And finally he remembers that fateful night and the reason why Maram is in a coma. They were walking together late at night, when about three robbers approached them and threatened Husam with a gun, while they were hurting Maram. Husam tried to surprise the robber and take the gun away from him however it ends up firing at Manar. The robbers run and Maram collapses on the ground. Husam panics and goes out of his mind while he walks away. And that leads us to the present.

Shortly after, in the present, Maram wakes up from her coma and her cancer has declined to a point where it doesn't exist anymore. She is reunited with Husam, and there the movie ends!

So what do you think of it? I thought that they should have the ending of when Maram is reunited with the whole family in Turkey and her daughter, Hayat especially.

Kasr al Hob: Beautiful Turkish Drama

Kasr al Hob, or the Palace of Love in English is a Turkish Drama that just finished airing two days ago on MBC. In Turkish, the name of this drama is Asmali Konak, literally translating into the Ivy Mansion. Different translations yet the same brilliant story!

Let me start with the plot and storyline. The story is of a very important family. In the first episode, a tragic event takes place which is the death of the head of the family and the beloved husband and father. Husam, the oldest son, takes the place of his father as agha and all the responsibility of the family business rests on his shoulders. His life is split in between New York and Turkey.

When Husam is in New York, he meets a beautiful girl, Maram, and they fall in love and decide to get married. Maram is an artistic person and is very liberal unlike Husam's family. Yet he chooses to take her home and they marry. At first, his mother, Suad Khanom, objects to the marriage. But as the story progresses, Maram and Suad develop a good relationship. All of the characters' lives revolve around this Palace, that is not in Istanbul, but in Antalya I think in a very strange and alien landscape full of big rocks and desert, which adds to the charm of the show.

After Maram and Husam get married, they have a beautiful baby daughter, Hayat that changes their lives for the better. Throughout the episodes, the characters encounter problems, big and small and how they solve these. The theme of Kasr al Hob in my opinion, is eternal love. Nothing can damage or affect Husam and Maram's love.

At the end of the drama, Maram starts experiencing symptoms of dizziness, and low blood pressure. She is diagnosed with cancer and Husam is devastated. Maram is the only one that does not know of this, and is very optimistic. The whole family is shattered. Husam tells Maram that they have to go to New York because their company will be trading with another company in the United States. The true purpose is to have treatment in the US for Maram. Maram is ecstatic. After a heartbreaking scene of goodbyes and especially to Husam and Maram's daughter Hayat, they head off to New York. The last scene is of a sad scene of Hayat crying because her mother left her.

I was extremely upset that they had ended the show here, because I wanted to know if Maram lived or not. So I did a little research and found out that after the series, the director made a movie called Asmali Konan: Hayat, or the Ivy Mansion: Hayat. I watched it on YouTube in Turkish and tried to decipher what was happening from the English comments that I read. I'll post another article tomorrow on what happens in this movie!

I'm Back! Finally Right!

Hi Everyone and Ramadan Karim, it feel so great to be back to this blog. I remember all the good times I had on it and how much responses I got back. And now I'm glad to see that it has gained popularity in the past several months, yet I apologize so much for not updating for about three months. I feel so ashamed, but I have an excuse! :) I was in Damascus and it was impossible to post anything to the Damascene Breeze, as my blog is blocked over there. Maybe it's because of the politics.. lol? Anyway I'm glad to say that I'm back to posting, and the Damascene Breeze will not only be about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict yet it will be about many Middle Eastern topics, being politics or society-related. And maybe I'll throw in a couple of entertainment articles for the fun of it, as in Ramadan there will be a lot of new series and dramas.

I also feel ashamed to say that I have not been following up on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so
I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of research as well. This topic cannot be addressed in 35 articles and there will be more I hope. As I write, I'm remembering the time when I was digging for information and reading any book I could get my hands on about this topic. And I hope I could get back to that state. I wouldn't call it loss of interest at the moment, my interest is just a little weaker but I will strengthen it to provide you with articles that offer insight in the everyday life in Israel/Palestine and the whole Middle East as well.

I also visited Beirut this summer and I am happy to say that Lebanon is added on my list of interesting topics as I have gained tremendous admiration for the city and the country as a whole. Expect a lot of articles about Beirut, current or not.

I'm confused under what genre this blog would be classified under: Israeli-Palestinian, Middle Eastern Politics, Entertainment, Middle Eastern society. All of these probably but the one theme here that is common among all of these titles is Middle Eastern. All articles are about the Middle East, may it be political conflicts or a new drama that is airing. So tune in the coming months and see what articles capture your interest. I'm also up to suggestions, so please whatever is on your mind, let it reach me! I want to say thank you for everyone that was visiting this blog in the summer and I am very sorry that I didn't update. Hopefully I could gain you back as loyal visitors to this blog! Thank You!

Ahl Al Gharam 2, New Syrian Drama

Ahl al Gharam, The People of Love in English, is a Syrian Drama that gained a lot of attention and became very popular about two or so years ago. Ahl al Gharam is back now with a new season of love and romance. The new season started a couple of months ago, and they have been airing an hour or so long episode once a week on Thursday nights. Each episode tells a story of a relationship or of some type of love or difficulties. There is a large amount of actors in this drama including Kosay al Khouly, Dima Andaleft, Basil Khayat, Laura Abu Asaad, and many more. The stories and topics of the episodes differ and they portray Syrian society, or in specific Damascene society.
Yet sometimes the actors or rather the writer and the director of Ahl al Gharam puts some twists in the typical Damascene Society. For example, we see single girls coming back to their parents house in the early morning, coming back from night clubs and restaurants, while they are out with a group of friends consisting of guys and girls. The parents are perfectly alright with this and welcome the girl with open arms. However, this is not Damascene society, because the girl that is seen going out like this will get talked about by people and her reputation will be in the ground. There are many examples of this type that are putting a modern twist in our society that may be there and may not. When a girl behaves like this, people will say that she has not been raised right and that she is "faltanay". I do not know how to define this in English, but it kind of means that she doesn't care of the customs and that she doesn't respect the society that she lives in.
There may be a lot of these cases, where our society is getting modern yet I never see it in real life when I am in Damascus. Anyway, Ahl al Gharam portrays these acts as normal, yet I do not know how the Arabic World is responding to it. What do you think? Is it too modern or is the society changing?

Rola Saad's New Clip, "Basbastello"

Rola Saad recently launched a new album that was produced by the famous company Rotana. The album goes under the name of "Al Fostal Al Abyad" or the "White Dress" and it includes many songs that are in the Lebanese and Egyptian dialects. Rola filmed her first song from the album called "Basbastello" or "I called out to him" ( I couldn't find a better translation..) and the music video was also produced by Rotana of course. The director of the clip is Fadi Haddad. Rola and Fadi chose to make this clip very unique and special. In MBC's scoop, Rola said she didn't want to make this clip like the normal he loves her but there's some difficulty. She said that style was getting boring, and that she wanted to cast a whole different print. The word Basbastello is an old Lebanese word, and she wanted to bring it back to modern dialect and to make it in style again.

The whole story board of the clip revolves around the word Basbastello, of course. Fadi Haddad decided with Rola to make it a comic clip, but the director didn't want Rola to be the source of the comedy. They decided to work with famous Lebanese comical actress, Lilian Nemri. Lilian was more than happy to join. She was cast as Rola's friend in the clip who feels very protective of Rola and is a little envious of why she gets all the attention from the guys. The clip starts out of the two walking in the street when a man in a car drives by them. Rola and Lilian say "pisst, pisst". The man turns around and looks and then crashes into a wall. It's hilarious, and I suggest you see it if you want a good laugh!

Nothing So Far

Why have I not been writing for the past few weeks?
This might be the question that all of the people that come and visit this blog on a dailybasis ask themselves. I also ask myself this. At first I thought that I was getting bored with my blog and just in general, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and all politics. But then I found the real answer on the Arabic and Israeli newsites:
Nothing new is going on or happening. It's all the same crap that you get from political leaders. All they do is talk, talk and talk a bit more. Threats are being thrown in every direction from every Middle Eastern country and Western countries as well. The United Nations had come up with a countless number of resolutions in the past 60 years concerning Israel, yet Israel did not follow and will not follow, yet it is still a member of the United Nations. This, I do not understand.
And just like Israel didn't follow the UN resolutions, I'm sure it will not follow the United States guidelines on creating a Palestinian state, unless action is taken. For the past three or more weeks, all I see on Haaretz or al Jazeera is talk and statements being said by a world leader. Netanyahu: a Palestinian state is not in our best interest. Obama: let me be clear, we fully back up the Two State solution. Hamas: we are not willing to recognize the Jewish state, and much, much more. I honestly got bored about writing the same topic over and over again. These leaders are not taking action. They're sitting in their elegant offices or at their podiums issuing statements that at first cause a reaction and by the next day they are forgotten.
Now you know why I did not write and why there is no use of me writing until something actually happens. For the past three months, I have written articles revealing the true nature of the occupation and the terrifying details, and I will continue if I read and educate myself more. But please do not think that I am closing this blog down or that I just forgot about it. Come by and check it daily and I promise you, I'll start writing once I find a good subject.
If you have any suggestions, please tell me in your comments or in the cbox. Thank you for being loyal to the Damascene Breeze.

Obama Changes Tactics on Israel

President Obama has just recently finished a tour of Europe and it ended in Turkey where he delivered a speech in front of the Turkish parlaimant. The visit to Turkey was very successful, and the people were very excited and recieved Obama in the best way. This visit was a sign as to improve relations between Turkey and the United States.

However, President Obama also talked a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressed the fact that the United States fully supports the Two State Solution, which was a response to Israel's foreign minister when he said that the Israeli government was not bound by the Annapolis convention. The only way to end this conflict, or at least try to end it is the two state solution, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Without that, this conflict will go nowhere he said.

Obama has also breifed his congressmen of a predicted confrontation with Netanyahu's rightist government about this. I am extremely happy that the President and the whole United States came to its senses and is doing what is right. What Obama has said, of a confrontation with the new Israeli government means that if the two state solution is not to be fulfilled and Netanyahu's government supporting it, then the United States may have to use different tactics with its strongest ally in the Middle East. I hope they stop sending financial aid and military aid to Israel if they oppose this.

I hope this is a start of a new era for the United States as well, to improve its image in the Middle East. The visit to Turkey was a huge success and I hope Obama visits all the capitals of the Middle East, like Damascus, Amman, and Beirut.

President Obama is also scheduled to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank in June. We might see a lot of change in the summer, and possibly the establishment of Palestine.

The Golan is #1 On Syrian Agenda

The Golan Heights, an area in southwestern Syria, currenlty occupied by Israel since 1967 is a very strategic point. Because of the elevation, both countries are in need of this geograhpic location. The Golan Heights overlooks all of Israel, and Syria. So we could understand why the two countries want it. But the Golan Heights righfully belongs to the Syrian Arab Republic, and is occupied territory. Israel doesn't even want to give it back even with a peace process. Netanyahu and all the previous governments of Israel have promised Bashar al Assad full withdrawl of the Israelis from the Golan Heights and the full return to Syria. However, now the real plan is uncovered. Israel does not want to withdraw, and it never will withdraw from the Golan Heights, peace treaty or no. So just today, the Syrian President, Bashar al Assad responded in a regional newspaper.

He said that the "enemy" does not want peace, and there is no other alternative but full resistance, which means war. He said that sooner or later, the Golan will be liberated. And I agree with him fully. Israel has occupied territories from four countries, and has ethnically cleansed a nation. Yet the international community and the United Nations is still silent on this aspect. Israel has occupied the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, but has returned it in a peace treaty. It occupied part of Jordan and the West Bank which was annexed by Jordan. It also occupied southern Lebanon, until Hezbollah forced them out. And right now the Golan. So I don't understand why the Israeli government cannot return the Golan Heights under a peace treaty just like with Egypt and President Sadat. No other alternative is left for the Syrian government but force, just like the Israeli-Lebanese model. Hezbollah forced out the Israelis from southern Lebanon and just like them, Syria may force Israel out of the Golan.

But now we come back to the same mindsets of the Israelis. They say that the Golan is rightfully theirs and it belongs to Israel, and it is part of the Holy Land historically. Everyone is tired of their rhetoric. Anyway, Assad's full words are that with Peace or War, the Golan will be liberated and that he is ready to hold peace talks with any Israeli government, even Netanyahu's, but the only condition is the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan.

One day, Israel says it is ready to withdraw from the Golan, the next day, they say peace can only be exchanged to peace.