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Beach Villa Made Famous in Arabic Soap Opera Hits Market in Abu Dhabi

The Saadiyat Island home from "Oud Akhdar" is asking 12.6 million dirhams (US$3.4 million)

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The outdoor area is the five-bedroom villa’s standout feature.

Almer Agmyren
The outdoor area is the five-bedroom villa’s standout feature.
Almer Agmyren

The luxury Abu Dhabi-based home featured in the 2016 Arabic soap opera, "Oud Akhdar" is for sale for 12.6 million dirhams (US$3.4 million).

Referred to as "masalsal" in Arabic, the telenovela-like soap operas run during Ramadan every year and attract viewers across the region and abroad, who tune in daily during the holy month after breaking their fast. Masalsalat (plural) are a cultural staple, and nearly each country in the Middle East and North Africa produces its own.

"Oud Akhdar," which aired last year on Saudi-run television channel MBC, centered on Hanin, a young lady who lost her mother and struggled with her father’s second wife. The show was shot at the five-bedroom and six-bathroom villa on Saadiyat Island, a popular resort destination just off the coast of Abu Dhabi, with images of the pool, garden and family areas often coloring the background.

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"The producers of the TV show asked us for the best and most luxurious villas in Abu Dhabi," said Almer Agmyren, managing director of Rex Real Estate and the villa’s realtor. "We chose three for them and this was the only one they really liked because of its garden and pool."

At 13,000 square feet, the villa’s garden is large for Abu Dhabi private residences. Landscaped by international architecture and design firm Cracknell, who also completed the pool, the outdoor area is the villa’s standout feature. Dotted with plumerias and palm trees, the garden is large enough to furnish and host intimate gatherings.

The pool is a highlight of the home—which has been on the market since the beginning of April— Mr. Agmyren said.  "It’s like a hotel pool—I’ve never seen one like it for a private villa in the UAE. The light in the afternoon hits that area beautifully, because on the side that the sun sets, there aren’t other buildings, just a straight view of the beach and sea."

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Developed by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Co. and built by Al Jaber Construction in 2012, the 6,117-square-foot home follows the Standard Arabian design—the only other options in the Saadiyat beach villa development are Mediterranean and Contemporary.

Currently owned by the Clouts, a South African family that have resided there since it was built, the villa’s design includes archways that separate interior spaces, as well as large architectural arches that provide shade on the balconies and terraces, and open social spaces. "It doesn’t really differ from the Mediterranean homes," Mr. Agmyren said, "but it caters more to Arabian hospitality."

Home to Abu Dhabi’s cultural district, the villa’s extended community on Saadiyat Island continues to be a multifaceted development project with cultural institutions, luxury resorts and high-end residences across the 500-meter land. Aside from the multiple art museums to open in the coming year, like the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the island also hosts a number of projects by renowned architects like Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.

The villa, which also boasts a maid’s room and, sits at the end of a cul de sac within 200 meters of  Saadiyat Beach Club, once called the Monte Carlo Beach Club. At the moment, the new Jumeirah Beach Hotel is gradually taking form in the horizon and is slated for completion in 2018.