Classic Syrian Ramadan TV drama Bab Al-Hara shuts its gates this year

Arguably the most popular Arab soap opera of all time will reportedly not air new episodes during the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Syrian-produced period drama Bab al-Hara (Neighbourhood Gate) will not be broadcast next month after nine seasons, one of the show's directors told The New Arab on Monday.

"Until now I haven't signed a contract for a tenth season despite an agreement with producers," Majid al-Qabrawi said.

"It has been delayed without a contract being finalised," he added.

Media sources told London-based al-Quds al-Arabi that the show may return to the airwaves next year on Saudi-owned channel MBC.

First aired in 2006 to much critical acclaim, the drama is set in a traditional neighbourhood of the Syrian capital Damascus in the 1930s.

It is often cited as one of the most successful Ramadan series of all time, but its popularity has waned in recent years.

The soap opera was relaunched in 2014 after a three-year break.

Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, is the biggest month of the TV calendar in the Middle East with audiences tuning into a vast array of night-time dramas.