Ammon News - AMMONNEWS — Arab Telemedia Productions – Jordan recently began shooting the historical series, BALQIS on location in Amman. The story portrays the life of the renowned Queen of Sheba, and is anticipated to top the list of historical drama series when aired next Ramadan. The screenplay is written by Rasheed Khasawneh and directed by Basel Al Khateeb, with an exceptional cast of Jordanian and Arab historical stars.

The story starts in the last years of the rule of King Al Hadhad, Balqis’ father, whose character is played by Syrian actor Ass’ad Fiddah; during the reign of this despotic and yet weak king, the country witnesses failings in military, economic, and administrative fields, while the rivalry between Yemeni and Abysinian tribal heads undermined the central state and thereby led to its loss of control. The heir to the throne is taken prisoner before the king is taken ill and eventually dies, thus leaving his kingdom to his daughter, Balqis.

Played by the Jordanian star of the screen Saba Mubarak the story of Balqis is set in the land of Yemen and tells the tale of the exceptional Himyarite princess who becomes the Queen of Sheba, the shining symbol of her era around which the plots revolves. During one of the most important periods of ancient Yemeni history which witnessed
military tension and tribal wars, Balqis, the exotic and mysterious woman of power, was able to transform and unifiy Yemen during her reign through her astuteness and wisdom, to become a prosperous land for the people.

BALQIS offers a unique opportunity for a leading female role within Arabic drama production, enabling the star Saba Mubarak a new performance for her fans after her stellar success playing leading roles in Bedouin dramatic series.. Over the past 2 years, Mubarak has been an audience favorite in the bedouin productions playing Wadha in NIMER BIN EDWAN, and Alia in the series UYOUN ALIA. Mubarak then achieved international acclaim through her performance in ALIJTIYAH (The Invasion) where she starred alongside an elite cast of Jordanian and Arab stars. In 2008, ALIJTIYAH made history as the first Arabic production to win an International Emmy Award.

The cast of BALQIS includes the acclaimed stars, As’ad Fiddah, Ghassan Mas’oud, Munthir Rayahneh, Mohammad AlAbbadi, Hani AlRomani, Abeer Issa, and Suhail Juba’i.