With all this gender segregation and emphasis on sex and femininity, you would think that Saudis would be very romantic and passionate. In the same vein of Latinos is the way Saudis come across when they’re trying to woo a woman, but trust me, that wears off pretty quick. Marriage here is really just the funeral of a relationship’s romance. There’s an Arab proverb that translates to the end of love is marriage. Society as a whole tends to view romance in heterosexual relationships as trivial and unimportant. Maybe that is why the Turkish soap opera Noor has become all the rage across Saudi Arabia. It’s about a husband who loves his wife madly. And it doesn’t hurt that the husband is smoking hot! The soap opera was dubbed in Arabic and all the names were changed to Arabic names. I personally have not followed the series but I have seen a few scenes. Turkey as a summer destination has seen renewed popularity thanks to the show. Even old ladies have fallen for Mohanid. Every dinner or tea party I go to, all they talk about is the series. The Arabic names of the main roles have become the most popular baby names this year and the show is even known to have sparked domestic family issues.
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Saudiwoman's Weblog 
Interesting. I never knew this show was getting so popular here, but then again, I wouldn’t be able to understand a show in Arabic.
But how husbands reacted by divorcing their wives is plain stupid, and the wives should get a grip as well.
Eman..
In Arabic we say مصائب قوماٌ عند قوماً فوائدُ
and it is really true .. that we have approven our “Crispness” and how extremely shallow our mentalities are!
It is so sad to read in the Media about babies named after his name, ladies are insisting to spend the summer in Turkey..
I really have a dream Eman .. I wish it’ll come true one day .. I wish that we practice civilization as real civilization not practice a fake one!! as we do now..
a real good post Eman as we always expect in every post you write 🙂
Well, sadly because most marriages in here aren’t based on love to begin with.. even during the period of “5o6ba” or engagement in which the husband and wife to be should get to know each other and entice one another… they don’t or fail to, due to multiple reasons.
The show in my opinion is not impressive at all when it’s considered from a dramatic point of view because the dialogue and the directing in addition to the acting all are weak but as you said what drew the viewers to it are the situations they live in home. Women in all age groups are looking for that kind of romance and men don’t know how to or don’t feel like doing that.
I don’t think he’s that hot actually 😛
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Whoa.. people really have some suppressed feelings at home.. either that or they’re just blowing this thing out of proportion.
I really hope its the latter.
Salamu ‘Alaykum,
So the ‘arab women will become like the idiotic “western” woman seeking some prince-walt disneyified cinderalla-like love, who will knock her off her feet and lay the big smooch on her.
It is amazing how stupid some people are. How out of touch with reality they have become…
“So the ‘arab women will become like the idiotic “western” woman seeking some prince-walt disneyified cinderalla-like love, who will knock her off her feet and lay the big smooch on her.”
You forget the rest of that fairy tale: Western woman educates herself to the highest degree, gets fantastic career, realises she doesn’t really need financial support from a man, and wonders what purpose marriage served in the first place aside from transfer of property (her) and fornication as ordained by God. Did I mention the part where she becomes the full-time single mother and waits for support checks from the husband who’s married a younger and prettier woman?
I’m raised in the west among those idiotic western women you refer to in your comment. I’ve also live in this region on and off a long time. That fairy tale is alive and well in this part of the world. Young men and woman in countries like Saudi Arabia, among others, see films from countries like Egypt that show romantic love. They are obviously conflicted, since romantic love contradicts what they are told marriage should be. Music, literature, and films (many of which are produced in predominantly Muslim countries; albeit any and all from countries more liberal than Saudi) create an image of a love that most of these young people will not be given a chance to explore. If you’re trying to suggest that a woman (no matter where she comes from) is more out of touch with reality because she seeks romantic love rather than the woman who thinks absolutely pragmatically when choosing a spouse, I would suggest that you are the one out of touch with reality. Incidentally, the divorce rate has dropped in the U.S. while the divorce rate in KSA continues to rise above 50%: one of the highest in the world and higher than many of those nations that house idiotic western woman with ridiculous notions of love.
I’m not suggesting that everyone should marry for romantic love and/or believe in a fairy tale. Nor am I suggesting that traditionally arranged marriages are the answer. I think you’d be surprised by how many woman (and men) in the world that combine pragmatism and romance quite successfully.
Another Western woman here, chiming in. I must agree with Abu Dhabi/UAE Photo. Deep down, there is not a woman in the world who hasn’t fantasized about finding true love with a handsome passionate considerate hunk. Realistic or not, we all have dreams. The show’s popularity speaks for itself. And just for clarification, one can find “idiots” in every country of the world, of any religion, men and women alike. The problem is, for example, lumping all Western women together as idiotic.