The cast of the Syrian TV series Omar al Khayyam which is currently being filmed, held recently a press conference in Damascus, according to the daily Syria Times.
Director of production Salah Touma said that more than 120 locations were employed to take the shots of the series in seven Syrian governorates. He pointed out that some shots will be taken in Lebanon and Uzbekistan.
He added that a large number of actors and actresses take part in the series, including Jihad Saad who plays the role of Omar al Khayyam, Samar Sami, Khaled Taja, Rafiq Sbeai, Zoheir Abdel Karim and many others.
Tunisian director Shawqi al Majeri said that emphasis will be put on the humanitarian side of al Khayyam’s character as if he were a contemporary man.
Al Majeri added that the filming of the 30-episode series will take more than five months.
Scenarist Ghassan Jbaai said that any historical series produced now becomes contemporary, because history repeats itself.
In reply to a question about the reason for choosing the character of Omar al Khayyam, Jbaai said that al Khayyam had a lasting imprint in the human history. However, he was a marginalized and defeated character. “I like to defend defeated people in my scripts,” Jbaai said.
Actor Khaled Taja expressed pleasure over taking part in the series referring to the importance of the contemporary issues of the series.
Actor Fayez Qazaq who returns to TV drama following a long career in the theatre, asserted the importance of historical series, because they reflect the rich history of the Arab nation. “The Syrian and Egyptian TV have produced several series about the outstanding personalities in the Arab Islamic history. These include Omar Bin Abdel Aziz, Haroun al Rashid and Yaqout al Hamwi, the famous Arab geographer and historian’ said Qazaq.” – Albawaba.com
