At a ceremony welcoming prominent Egyptian actor Yahia al-Fakharani to Algeria he announced, "Dear guests, I am truly sorry, I was supposed to visit your country a long time ago," during his first visit to the country.
According to the UAE based daily, Al Bayan, Yahia noted that hundreds of Egyptian actors, singers, and directors had visited Algeria and participated in so many cultural and entertainment activities, and he is so grateful to now be part of them.
Yahia stated that he has discovered a very beautiful country he should have visited long ago, and promised to visit again.
Recently, Al Fakharani disappeared from the spotlight for nearly two weeks, prompting circulating rumors that he is in a severe state of depression over the failure of his recent Ramadan television drama series "Al Marsi Wal Bahar" (The Sailor and his Anchor).
Yahia strongly denied the rumors, explaining that what had happened with the Ramadan drama was an important lesson for him, which is never to accept a role that is inappropriate for his age.
"The Sailor and his Anchor," written by Jala Abdul Kawi and directed by Ahmad Saqr, revolves around the trials and tribulations of an Alexandria fisherman.
Yahia revealed that he had intended on postponing the drama until next year until all the episodes were well written, but he was pressured by the production company to complete the series this year, since it had already been sold to a number of television stations.
Algeria is the second largest Arab country in terms of area and population.
