The Turkish title of this soap is Hanımın Çiftliği or Lady's Farm. In Arabic it is called Matensanich (Don't Forget Me).
Everywhere I went, all the women and some of the men stopped what they're doing when it was time to watch Kholoud, the Arabic name given to the much-put-upon heroine of this limited run Turkish soap opera. Dubbed into Arabic and technically know as a telenovela, it is the serialization of a novel by the Turkish author Orhan Kemal. The series ran for a little under 2 years, and I have to admit that I got hooked.
The story arcs were generally short--often just 5 or 6 episodes--with kidnappings, murders, extortion, and adultery being ever so popular. Victims at death's door from being shot, stabbed or beaten on Monday were totally healed by Friday. One kidnapper who was shot in the leg, limped around for maybe 4 episodes and then just got over it, without any medical treatment whatsoever, simply because he had more a lot more bad guy stuff to do before finally getting caught and committing suicide.
The over the top melodrama and simplicity of the story lines made it perfect for someone with limited Arabic language skills. Just like a small child, if I couldn't figure out the words, all I had to do was look at the pictures.
The end of the series came with all story lines feeding into that of Khadijah, the evil former sister-in-law, whose only purpose in life was to kill, betray, sabotage or destroy everything and everyone Kholoud loved. And how often have I wanted to know what happened to the characters after the end of the story? The finale, which aired just before Ramadan, showed all of the characters 10 years down the road.
The Turkish series was so popular in Morocco, I've seen little girls dressed in Kholoud t-shirts. Kholoud shows up in songs. The series was so popular, in fact, that it has just started all over again. I started watching the series near it's end, so the genesis of the storyline is new to me. I just saw episode 3 tonight. I know a lot of Morocco is watching with me.
