A HOME FOR ANYONE ADDICTED TO ARABIC. 
JOIN ARABIC FOR NERDS➕

Support this site with a membership: For only $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, you can have a true AD-FREE experience. You also get a 15% discount in my shop and a monthly premium newsletter. Find out more here.

SUPPORT THIS SITE

Passion doesn't need money. Unfortunately, my web provider does. Your contribution ensures that this site will grow and grow.

Buy Me A Coffee

PayPal Donate
amazon wishlist button
Free monthly newsletter

Subscribe to my FREE newsletter and get 10% off in my store!

‘Ayza Atgawez’ ten years later: Netflix continues the story of Ola

Ayza Atgawez was a big hit in the Arab world in 2010. The Netflix series Finding Ola portrays the life of the main character ten years later: a divorced woman with children, 40 years old, belonging to the 1% very rich people in Egypt, who is searching for a new start and meaning in her life.

Last updated: 7 months ago

Many people who lived in Egypt in the years leading up to the , when the Internet was catalyzing social debate and the Egyptian dialect found a new self-confidence in written form, will be familiar with the title Ayza Atgawez – عايزة أتجوز (I want to get married).

Now there's a series that shows us what happened to the main character and the challenges she's struggling with now, ten years later. The series is called Finding Ola (البحث عن عُلا).

Finding Ola continues the story of pharmacist Ola Abd elSabour (علا عبد الصبور) from the TV comedy series Ayza Atgawez – عايزة أتجوز (I Want To Get Married) which was launched in 2010. The main character is now forty years old, belongs to the 1% rich people in Egypt, and faces life-changing events. The story follows the quest of a recently divorced housewife and mother of two to start all over in the search for a new purpose and self-discovery.

What is the story of Ayza Atgawez?

In 2006, Ayza Atgawez started out as a blog: https://wanna-b-a-bride.blogspot.com

blog ayza atgawwez
Screenshot: Blog by Ghada Abdel Aal

The author, Ghada Abdel Aal (غادة محمد عبد الرازق), a pharmacist, wrote about her quest to find a good and suitable husband – in Egyptian Arabic.

I represent about 15 million girls between the ages of 25 and 35 years, whom society is chasing and insulting to get married.1

Ghada Abdel Aal on her blog profile at the time

Blogs where a big thing back then in Egypt, and the writer touched many topics of unmarried Egyptian women. As the blog became popular, she was approached by a publishing house, Dar El Shorouk, to convert her writings to a book. The book became a bestseller; however, it was just a collection of small scenes that first appeared on the blog.

How to buy the original book

The book is written in colloquial Egyptian Arabic. There are English, German, Italian and Dutch translations.

ayza atgawez book 1160x1543 jpg
A page of the original book in Egyptian Arabic

In fact, I used it back then as a , reading the Egyptian Arabic original with an Egyptian friend who explained me vocab and cultural background. The Egyptian Arabic is quite challenging if you want to properly understand it.

You can still get the original as well as the translations on amazon:

,[object Object],[object Object]”]

The original musalsal from 2010

In 2010, the book was turned into a television series () that was aired during Ramadan. In some countries, especially in the Middle East, you can watch the original series on Netflix.

The Netflix Series Finding Ola

Netflix is currently having great success with stories based on popular series from the past, starring the same actors. Kind of like “What happened to…?” A good example is Cobra Kai.

In Finding Ola, the Cairo-based Tunisian actress, Hend Sabry (هند صبري), 42, revives her popular character of Ola Abdel-Sabour in the 2010 musalsal Ayza Atgawez (I want to get married). Ghada Abdel-Aal, the original author of the blog, was a co-author of the Netflix story.

netflix finding ola
Screenshot: netflix.com

In the original series, Ola was under societal pressure to get married before her 30th birthday and explored many options. Ten years later, she is divorced and juggling her duties as a mother, daughter, her job as a pharmacist and her attempts to find love.

The six-episode series casts Egyptian actress Sawsan Badr – in the same role of Ola's' mother as in the original series – as well as Hani Adel (هاني عادل), Nada Mousa (ندى موسى), Mahmoud El-Leithy (محمود الليثي), and Dalia Shawky.

Every episode features guest appearances of well-known actors such as Yousra (يسرا), Sherine Reda (شيرين رضا) and Khaled El-Nabawy (خالد محمد النبوي).

According to Netflix, Finding Ola is available in 190 countries, subtitled in 32 languages and dubbed to four languages.

About the main actress Hend Sabri

Hend Sabri's first appearance in Egyptian cinema was in the 2002 production A Teenager's Diary (Muzakirat Murahiqua). Her later roles include starring in films such as A Citizen, a Detective, and a Thief (Mowaten we Mokhber we Haramy) in 2002, Downtown Girls (Banat West El-Balad) in 2005, and Ibrahim El-Abyad in 2009.

She also appeared in The Yacoubian Building (Oumaret Yacoubian, 2006). Her portrayal of an HIV positive woman in Asmaa (2011) brought her several awards.

REFERENCES
  1. أمثل 15 مليون بنت من سن 25 إلى سن 35 و اللي بيضغط عليهم المجتمع كل يوم عشان يتجوزوا ↩︎
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Previous Article
perfect strangers english subittles 1 scaled

How to watch “Perfect Strangers” with English subs

Next Article
arabic clothes scaled

Arabic Conditionals: Part 3 - ف and Tenses

Related Posts
shahid_screenshot
Read More

Five reasons why Shahid is the best Arabic streaming platform

Shahid is an Arabic streaming platform. It offers 25,000 hours of Arabic series and movies. Shahid clearly beats Netflix when it comes to Arabic. Shahid is cheaper, has better Arabic content, and best of all, it offers subtitles in English, French, and Arabic. A no-brainer for people who like Arabic.

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter

Don't miss any updates and get your regular dose of Arabic.