Ghalia Alia Mahmoud (Egypt's Rachel Ray)

Overnight television sensation Ghalia Mahmoud brings practical cooking advice, wit, humor and inspiration to millions of Egyptian home television viewers since this past Ramadan TV season.

How to feed a meal to a family of 15 on less than 10 dollars, words of encouragement for women, and the warm inviting smile typical of Egyptians, Ghalia has an inviting touch. She works in a modest kitchen modeled off of her own, using simple utensils and simple ingredients which every Egyptian can afford. Her producer sees her as a potential Oprah Winfrey.

Source: 25TV Facebook page

It is not exactly a story of from rags to riches however, as Ghalia's family budget even after her show and stardom is still less than $200 a month. Nevertheless, Ghalia has a deep richness which is typical of the majority of Egyptians that goes beyond buck, and her rise to celebrity status and popularity offer a great hope to many Egyptians, who hope to see a more egalitarian society on the horizon.

Source: CNN International Ed.: Inside Africa

The B+ Bassem Youssef Show

You've all heard of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, but the newest latest political news comedy is not coming out of America, but is made in Egypt. Bassem Youssef is Egypt's newest home-grown media star, who began his career in media during the Egyptian revolution on YouTube (by trade, he is a heart surgeon), when he began broadcasting from his laundry room because of a passion to make a difference and provide alternative media to the trash that the state media (aka Fox news Egypt) was throwing in people's faces. Bassem Youssef is now going from the net to a wider audience on television, with his first show B+ The Bassem Youssef show, which is a riotous look at the upheaval that is Egypt these days.

Check out the Bassem Youssef Channel on Youtube or follow on Twitter.

Fatafeat

Fatafeat is the Middle East's cooking channel, featuring shows from the Food Network, but also homegrown Arabian cooking from across the Arab world. The company also has a monthly magazine with beautiful photography and recipes, and is available both in Arabic and thankfully also in English.

Great place to learn new Ramadan recipes to impress the whole family, you can see the videos from here: Fatafeat Youtube Channel or pick up a copy of their magazine.

Ramadan TV Series

Every Ramadan, following iftar (breakfast, or break the fast), families gather around their TV sets and prepare for the best TV pickings of the year, the special Ramadan series which air every night during the month of Ramadan. Like month-long mini-series, the shows build on one another, so to "get" what's really going on, you probably have to watch each night.

Comedies, historic dramas, talk shows, candid camera, Hindi movies, and a whole lot of Egyptian series that look an awful lot like daytime soap operas, you have your wide pick of viewing. I must say, it seems to me the pickings get better each year.

Bakar

Bakar is an adorable cartoon series that airs every Ramadan after the breakfast (i.e., break fast, when the sun sets). Each episode carries another moral lesson about virtue and the series displays fantastic scenes from the local rural life in Egypt.