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`Habibi, come to South Africa!`: Dubai Bling`s Ebraheem confirms Forever Rose coming to SA

Source: News24, 10/06/2024

• Ebraheem Al Samadi, celebrated for his role on Dubai Bling, chose South Africa as his exquisite holiday destination.
• He praised the country`s stunning landscapes, rich history, and the warmth of its people, declaring it an ideal vacation destination.
• Al Samadi revealed plans to expand his Forever Rose café franchise to South Africa and teases what he describes as the ultimate season of Dubai Bling.
`My name is Ebraheem, and this is my tongue. Beware!` The Blooming Man says in Netflix`s Dubai Bling, an iconic line that cements his place as `the son of a king, and the son of a queen`.
Ebraheem Al Samadi is a polarising character on the show, but when we meet on a rainy day at Cape Town`s City Hall, the rather humble and respectful Ebraheem we often see caring for his mom on the show insists I don`t stand as I`m an expecting mom. Instead, he shakes my hand, laughing, as he tells me about his drive into town and a few interesting characters he`s met on the streets.
Ebraheem is on a holiday visit to the country organised by Globe Travel Tours, whom he praises for their professionalism, friendliness, and experience in selecting the right places to visit in SA.
`South Africa is beautiful,` he says. `The scenic views are absolutely priceless.`
`South Africa is hope`
Ebraheem gushes over South Africa, saying: `Every part I`ve seen of Cape Town is better than the last.`
Our interview takes place before his trip to Johannesburg, although he`s rather impressed with the warm welcome he`s received thus far in Cape Town.
`It`s as good or even better than the Middle East,` he says.
`People are very generous with snacks and food!` he laughs.
`I`ve been getting sweets ever since I arrived, and I literally have this `sweet corner` in the hotel room that I keep waking up to and getting different snacks from. It just goes to show the amount of kindness and generosity of South Africans.`
As for the South African food itself and the stops along the way - which have included taking the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, having high tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel, and driving through Hout Bay and along Chapman`s Peak - he says, `Everything is priceless.`
`Every single part [of South Africa] is historically beautiful,` he explains. `Even just entering this building [City Hall] and seeing the statue of Nelson Mandela, and knowing the power that it had at that time, there`s nowhere in the world that you would get the beauty, the history, the landscape, the kindness of the people. For me, South Africa is the ideal vacation spot, honestly, from my heart.`
And the food?
`I felt like my whole life, I haven`t been living!` he gushes about his Mariner`s Wharf fish and chips.
Ebraheem is also championing the Palestinian cause while he`s here. He has taken a Zumba class to raise awareness and hiked Newlands Forest, where he was seen on video carrying his mom on his back.
`My mom doesn`t mind hiking, but it`s hard for her to go up steps,` he explains. So he carried her.
`I wanted her to see the view at the top,` he tells me.
On the importance of highlighting the genocide happening in Gaza, he says: `One of the reasons why I chose South Africa, it was always on my list my bucket list, but, when I heard how vocal South Africans are about Palestine, I was like that`s where I want to be.`
He adds:
When you follow people who have humanity, you`re going to get everything else after it. You`re going to get the kindness, the welcome, you`re going to get the good food, because these are humans. These are actual people.
`South Africa has experienced what is currently happening, and they`re telling the world, `It is not the way to go. We`ve already tried that, it didn`t work. You cannot oppress an entire race`. If you harm one person, you have the whole entire community against you. What about killing 35 000 people, of which most are children?
`South Africa is saying, `Hello, Israel. This is not the way to do it. We`ve been through this, learn from our history. This happened to us. We had apartheid. We had walls in between communities. You cannot separate community`.`
He says South Africa has only experienced 30 years of democracy, but sometime in the future, the country could very well `be at the top of the world.`
`So hope starts here,` he says. `I say, South Africa is hope for the world.`
Bringing Forever Rose to SA and the `ultimate` season of Dubai Bling
Season two of Dubai Bling ended on a happier note, with Ebraheem mending fences with Zeina Khoury and Safa Siddiqui as he opened his Besties café with Danya `Diva Dee` Mohammed.
The Blooming Man also owns the very successful Forever Rose café, which he says he`ll soon be franchising. His inbox is flooded with openings in Joburg.
`So, is that confirmation?` I ask, all coy. “Can I break that story?`
`You can break that story,` he says.
While dates are not confirmed, he teases a location with `the most beautiful views of South Africa because [he`s] personally in love with it`.
`And I also want to bring a lot of the South African heritage to our designs. You know, everything we do with Forever Rose is black and white, so we want to have, like, a painting of Nelson Mandela in black and white; we want to have all these things to show pride. I don`t want to bring something from outside in. I want to highlight the South African flavour.`
It`s giving: `Habibi, come to South Africa!`
Ebraheem will hopefully make his way back to SA very soon then, as filming for season three of Dubai Bling has already wrapped after all.
On the upcoming season, he confirms Kris Fade and Lojain Omran will not be returning, while it will likely be released closer to the end of the year.
He teases:
This will be the ultimate season because we all felt tired afterwards. Us, the crew, everyone, because we did a lot.
`Season three goes really deep into our lives,` he says, `and when you open your life to the camera and to the world, it`s not easy because not everyone`s going to judge you according to the way you want to be judged.`
He explains that viewers don`t always get to see the larger-than-life stars in their entirety.
`But honestly, I don`t care what anyone thinks because I know who I am,` he says. `I am me. I believe in what I say. I stand very firm in what I say. However, I`m not perfect, and I don`t have an issue showing my faults.`
`A lot of people, not to mention names, pretend to be someone they`re not. With Ebraheem, what you see is what you get. Some people accept it, they love it, they appreciate it, and some people say, `No, he`s too much.` But you can`t make everyone happy.`
Flexing a new phrase he learnt during his stay and in practice for his Forever Rose establishment in SA, perhaps, he concludes in true Ebraheem style, with a bit of South African flair: `There are more than two billion people in the world. You`re not going to make everyone happy. So, I only care about the people who actually care about me... Everyone else can `fokof`.`

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