Egyptian Show, Secret of the Nile, Proves to Transcend Language Barriers
When the Spanish drama series,
Gran Hotel, ran from 2011 to 2013, no one realized the global
impact it would soon have. After being broadcast across the world, the original series paved the way for numerous renditions in an assortment of languages. The Arabic rendition, introduced in 2016, titled
Secret of the Nile , and written by Tamer Habib, skips the Belle Époque period the original show is staged in and delves straight into 1950s Aswan, Egypt.
The Egyptian drama follows the journey of a young man named Ali
(Amr Youssef) as he travels to Aswan in search of his missing sister
(Aya Samaha), who was employed as a maid at a prestigious hotel.
At the same hotel, he gets a job as a busboy, in hopes that he’ll in
turn discover information regarding his sister’s whereabouts. The
show then explores his life as he balances his new job, his love-life,
and his solving of the mystery that brought him to Aswan in the first
place.
Secret of the Nile offers a storyline brimming with tasteful plot
twists all while maintaining enchanting cinematography, complex
characters, and gorgeous wardrobes. Through nods to history, the show is also able to contextualize itself within 1950s Aswan accurately. The Turkish terms of seniority used by hotel staff portray a lingering impact of the Ottoman Empire on the Egyptian dialect. British colonialism is also hinted at, through the British hotel guests and the modern attire sported by Egyptians of higher social status. These subtle elements help in making the show’s storyline realistic all while keeping it entertaining to the audience.
Different from the initial Spanish series, and the most recent American ABC adaptation, is the care in regards to the theme of romance. Multiple romantic relationships were covered in the Egyptian show, the main love story focuses on the aforementioned busboy Ali, yet all romantic
scenes were quite reserved—a product of the majority Muslim, Arab audience.
As the first Egyptian drama on Netflix, and the first Arabic show on Netflix in general, Secret of the Nile proves itself to be enjoyable not only to the audience it was intended for, but to a global audience from countries around the world. Currently, subtitles are available in English, Spanish, French, and both simplified and traditional Chinese.
In short, the 30-45 minute episodes are truly worth watching and then rewatching once again.
I watched this great show twice!
Really great mini-series – story, stars, acting, photography, sets, plot twists, wardrobes but … final episode (#30) an apalling, frustrating, puzzling mess. Too many unresolved story lines. There must be some episodes missing before and after #30. Loose ends: How did Ali find and get into a boat and catch up with Morad so quickly ? What happened to Baby ? Did Morad confess to hiring a killer for Dola and Ward. How and Did everyone learn that Morad was father of Ward’s baby. And, again, What Happened to the Baby ? And, oh, yeah, did Madame’s only consequence was to just sit in her room the rest of her life. Need a whole lot more fill-ins to make it a near perfect mini-series.
Nobody even mentioned Ali’s past girlfriend who stayed at the hotel and threatened to tell the police that Ali was an escaped convict unless he helped her steal Kesmet’s diamond brooch. That story line just disappeared somewhere. Maybe more to come on this in Season 2?
It has such a charm, I’ve watched it thrice.. The characters are true to life and the 50s setting has so much character.. Im impatient for the second season to come out..
Very intriguing story. I love the elaborate architecture in the rooms. The costumes were beautiful and accurate for that time. I do wish there would’ve been a little more outside scenery. I was expecting to see some Pyramids or other ancient ruins in the distance. I think I might’ve missed something about Ward’s baby. What happened to him after she was eliminated? I felt so sad about the twins. But other than that, I’m glad there was a happy ending.