Back to the complete issue
Friday, 3 March 2017

Before Adel Imam was the face of Ramadan, there were Fawazeer

Once upon a time, Adel Imam’s face was not a permanent fixture of Ramadan television. The ‘80s were a simpler time, when Nelly (and, later on, Sherihan) brought families together in front of the TV screen to watch Fawazeer, arguably the most iconic show in Ramadan entertainment history. Nelly’s run with Fawazeer started in 1980 with Fawazeer Arusty (watch, runtime 09:11), but more popular was the 1981 edition of the Ramadan riddle show, Fawazeer El Khatba (watch, runtime 07:59). The show continued to adapt and develop throughout the decade, with the addition of the unforgettable character Fatouta, played by Samir Ghanem, in 1982, and Sherihan taking over from Nelly in 1985. So iconic and memorable is the show that its influence extends well beyond the confines of the decade: In 2013, PepsiCo created a joint Pepsi and Chipsy Ramadan ad featured Nelly and Samir Ghanem alongside other icons of Egyptian Ramadans past (watch, runtime 3:00).

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.