Those Who Stand Together Thrive Together: Bab Al-Hara (2006)
Bab Al-Hara is an authentic Syrian show which had nine seasons and was released every Ramadan. This show did a great job displaying Arabic culture and how Arabs were back in the early 20th century. The show takes you into the daily lives of the small village named الضبع حارة. The show also showed how the Syrian people were resisting the French occupation and how their lives were under the occupation. The nicest thing about this shows it shows everyone’s perspective the rich, powerful, poor and powerless so you get to see the story from different perspectives and how each one of them lived. The culture throughout this show is amazing as you get to see the Arabic culture from
the food, music, architecture and their daily lives.
The architecture in this show really amuses me and I hope I will be able to visit Syria one day and see it firsthand. As most of the rich characters live in houses with courtyards and gardens in their courtyards. These houses were perfect for the women living in these houses as they would use different forms of architecture to make it really private for the families and especially the women. As well they let the family enjoy the
beautiful weather in Syria as it’s mostly sunny throughout the year so it’s perfect for their climate.
The show displayed their daily lives and, in their village, how their market was and how the son would take over whatever his dad used to work in. Nobody in the village would go to school so they would keep learning from their fathers until they knew it well enough to take over and let their fathers rest. It gives you an insight on the women’s role
back then and how much different than what it is today. The show displays the wedding and how they were then and the different cultural parties and gatherings. The gatherings would be separated the men on their own and the women on their own as well. The parties were full of poetry and religious songs for the men, the women parties were more songs and dancing. The gatherings for men was mostly in the nearest cafe and they would have a storyteller who would either tell them stories about the Arab history or fiction stories about heroes. They did not have Tv’s at the time, so this was their form of entertainment.
Written By: Marwan Qawoow
Directed By: Bassam Al-Mulla