Four Seasons:Four Seasons:Every Syrian’s Second Family

A teapot whistles over the (diesel oil) fireplace that swallows it in its cave, spreading a warmth like that of our family; the same family that is going to nestle down to watch the Karim Alsamaoui family from the TV series, The Four Seasons.

The series was written by Dalaa Mamdouh Al-Rahbi and Reem Hanna, and directed by the late Hatem Ali. Although more than 20 years have passed now since the first series, it remains one of the most prominent TV works of modern Syrian drama. It continues to be considered an unsurpassed and iconic show.That simple house, which encompassed a father, a mother, along with five daughters and their aunt, became a home for all Syrians when nostalgia knocked on our doors, especially given the characters who look exactly like many people around us, and maybe just like us.

Karim: The warmhearted grandfather (the hoarder), Nabila: the loving granny, Jamila: the aunt who never married, Laila: absent minded but spirited, Najib: who likes nothing at all, Majdah: who bears life with him through the generosity of her love, Rami: the technology geek, Soso: with her life issues and dealing with her love for her cousin Mazen (the reckless young man). A love is no less than Barhoum’s love for Shadia and their exploitation of the circumstances, which sometimes resemble those created by Maya, the daughter of Malik, the great merchant, and Faten who always seeks beauty and youth, unlike Nadia, the truth seeker, and Naima who found in this group of strangers a family for herself since she was an orphan just like Narah, Adel’s spoiled daughter.

When I translated this series into English as an assignment for my job about a month ago, I started thinking about the secret that brings us back to it over and over again. Perhaps it’s because it reminds us of days we want to reclaim, a portal that leads us back to our past. Or maybe because the characters are reflections of our own stories, crises, mood swings, and our lost dreams. Or maybe it is a balm for our pains. Or maybe we find in it the warmth of a family we lost after the war. Or maybe because we learn a new lesson every time we re-watch it, so we laugh at scenes and have reactions we hadn’t noticed before while we cry in tears at other scenes because, unfortunately, we’ve grown up now and we can understand their meanings.

The Four Seasons is a microcosm of our lives, a photo album that brings us back to the good old days, and a vivid model of a dramatic work that reached all Arab homes, showing our true image. Ultimately it deserved to take the throne of Syrian drama in the pre-war era.