Sah El Nawm

Words by Mai J Abbassi

When asked if they remembered Sah El Nawm – a comedy series that started broadcasting in 1972 – friends and family came back with all sorts of different responses. One friend said, “It evokes the feeling of goodwill of the people back then – in the old times.” For another, the “simplicity of life.” While my brother responded “hummus and ful”, the typical Levantine breakfast. 

Via TVDB

The show was directed by the Syrian Khaldoun Al-Maleh, filmed in Lebanon and written by Nehad Kaleai, who also played the role of Hosny Al-Borazan in the series. At that time, it was rare for households to have their own television. My uncle, who was then a young man, recounts watching the series in Huson – a village in northern Jordan – huddled with others around the window of Freih Al-Nimri, the first to own a TV in the village. 

Sah Al Nawm is named for its setting: a lodging house in the Kel Meen Eedo Elo neighborhood in Damascus. Much of the plot focuses on the love triangle that unfurls between Fatoum, Hosny Al Borazan and Ghawwar Al Tousheh. The inn’s owner and manager, Fatoum (Najah Hafeez), falls in love with her new tenant, Hosny Al-Borazan, a naïve and guileless journalist who is oblivious to Fatoum’s feelings. Instead, he’s concerned only with finishing his article, which he spends the entire series trying to do. 

Meanwhile, Ghawwar Al-Tousheh (Duraid Lahham) – an employee at Sah El Nawm – falls for Fatoum and tries all that he can – including mischievous tricks and pranks – to prevent her marrying his arch-enemy Hosny, supported in his antics by his friend Abu Anttar (Naji Jabr). Many of the show’s episodes included folk songs performed by singer Thiab Mashhoor. These songs became so popular that it’s not unusual to hear them sung in people’s homes and at gatherings. 

Political commentary and satire underpins the series. The very name of the neighborhood in which it’s set, Kel Meen Eedo Elo – meaning “everyone owns their own hand” – alludes to an absence of law and order. A feminist thread is also present: Fatoum represents a strong female Damascene entrepreneur and in the very first episode, Ghawwar speaks to Yassin of how girls are stronger than boys, taking their female manager as an example. The series brought people together across the decades. It was re-broadcast in the years following 1972 and remained a hit, especially since TV programs were limited to two channels with only 6 hours of broadcasting per day from 6 till midnight.