I grew up watching Spanish soap operas, and not really understanding what was going on since I am not a Spanish speaker. When Gumus was dubbed into Arabic and became Nur, and was broadcast on the Arab satellite stations, I began watching, not expecting too much.
The show starts off as previously described, with Muhanned who has lost the will to keep going to to the death of his girlfriend who was carrying his child. In order to save him from his self-destructive ways, his family engages in an old-fashioned arranged marriage despite his objections. What is different about this soap opera from so many others is the fact that it builds the relationship between the two gradually, and you actually begin to believe that they do care for each other. The chemistry between Nur and Muhanned is great, and Muhanned's mother is the perfect evil mother-in-law (although her acting is laughable). It does get a bit tedious with various strains on their marriage are repeated over and over, but all in all, for a soap opera, it was surprisingly moving, and the beautiful locations in and around Istanbul, and the eye candy helped keep my interest. Definitely worth watching if you understand Turkish or Arabic.