Alam Simsim

Alam Simsim is an Arabic language Egyptian-made adaptation of the format used in the children's television series Sesame Street. Alam Simsim is Arabic for "Sesame World". The show, funded by the U.S. Government's U.S. Agency for International Development is a cooperative project between Egypt's Al Karma Edutainment and the USA's Sesame Workshop. This effort is one of several such cooperative projects funded by USAID in countries such as Russia and South Africa. The show debuted in 2002, and now has more than 240 episodes. Satellite broadcaster Future Television of Lebanon picked up the show in November 2005, expanding possible viewership to more than 200 million viewers in the Arab States. The show is set in the imaginary Alam Simsim neighborhood in Egypt. This area is Medieval-looking like Old Cairo except perhaps more rural and green. It consists of a small public square surrounded by a park; a store owned by 'Am Gherghis; the carpenter's shop owned by 'Am Hussein with apartments above occupied by 'Am Hussein's family, 'Ama Kheireya his wife, Mona his teenage daughter and Kareem his young son. A bookstore or library is run by a young woman named Nabila. The humans are referred to as 'Am and 'Ama, which are "Uncle" and "Aunt" in Egyptian Arabic. These titles denote familiarity common in Egyptian neighborhoods.