When I lived in Cairo, Egypt...
I struggled to find good material to help me learn Egyptian Arabic.
There aren’t many things to begin with, and some of the “level appropriate” stuff I did find was just too boring.
This resulted in a ton of problems that you are probably familiar with:
- Slow progress with my Egyptian Arabic
- Struggles actually speaking with Egyptians and getting by in Cairo because of a lack of materials
- Frustration and lack of motivation
- The conviction that I was basically never going to learn Egyptian Arabic to the level that I wanted to
Not fun!
But, then, three months into my stay in Cairo…
Something incredible happened, because…
I Found Ramadan Series
These are basically the Arabic-speaking world’s equivalent of soap operas.
You know what I’m talking about:
Drama, backstabbing, crazy storylines, all that good stuff!
I found these shows uploaded to YouTube (30 episodes over the 30 days of Ramadan), started watching them to improve my Arabic skills, and the benefits immediately became obvious:
- I was getting a ton of exposure to how Egyptian Arabic is actually spoken
- I was learning super important slang phrases that aren’t usually taught in Egyptian Arabic classes
- I was working constantly on my listening skills and better understanding Egyptians as a result
- I was motivated by incredible stories and found it easy to routinely study 2-3 hours a day
- I was getting a giant heap of Egyptian culture
And, of course….
I was having a ton of fun.
Some of these Ramadan series are absolutely incredible. They are dramatic, emotional, and have some of the best acting I’ve ever seen.
Honestly-
Watching these shows was amazing.
Still, as great as Ramadan series were for my Egyptian Arabic…
They Were Way Too Hard!
That’s not to say Ramadan series didn’t help me. In fact, they did quite a lot.
But here’s the rough method I was using to study with them:
- Sit there with no idea what was being said 90% of the time
- Guess the meaning of lines of dialogue that sounded important
- Bring my practically unreadable notes to Egyptian friends and ask them to translate stuff
- Take a lesson with a teacher online and ask them about all the stuff my friends couldn’t quite understand
Needless to stay, this wasn’t exactly effective…
And even though I was getting better and more confident with Egyptian Arabic, I was wasting a TON of time doing it.
I was left with a frustrating realization:
Ramadan series are an absolute GOLD MINE of material to learn Egyptian Arabic with…
But they're way too hard (and ineffective) for the majority of Egyptian Arabic students.
Fast forward to today…
And six years after I started Cleo Lingo…
My friend Tarek and I had a crazy idea..
What If We Made One Of These Drama-Filled Series... But Specifically For People Learning Egyptian Arabic?
Wouldn’t that be a great way to learn?
Wouldn’t it give you a ton of useful material to study with?
Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a new “episode” of an Egyptian Arabic story delivered to you 30 days in a row…
And, assuming the language used was appropriate for your level…
Wouldn’t it be super effective?
And a hell of a good time? :D
Well…
Drumroll please….
That’s exactly what we did!
Introducing…
"The City That Never Sleeps": Your Ticket To Better Egyptian Arabic In Just 30 Days
That’s right:
We took all the drama, compelling storylines, and addictive plot of a Ramadan series…
Created a story at the “high beginner / lower intermediate” level of Egyptian Arabic…
And made a "Ramadan series" course for Egyptian Arabic learners out of it!
It’s called “The City That Never Sleeps”, and it tells the story (over 30 chapters) of three friends going to Egypt for the first time…
And all the weird things that happen.
Back when I was struggling with those “too difficult” Ramadan series in 2016…
Wanting so badly to understand exactly what was going on…
And desperate to improve my Egyptian Arabic with these “gold mines” of real Egyptian Arabic language…
This is exactly what I would have loved to have!
Here is what The City That Never Sleeps is all about:
- 30 chapters of the same drama-filled Egyptian Arabic story, delivered to you every single day of Ramadan (February 28, 2025 - March 29, 2025)
- A written transcript with English, Egyptian Arabic and transliteration Franco Arabic (along with a basic summary + most important vocabulary) for each chapter
- Full audio recordings of every single chapter of the story
- A video lesson from an Egyptian Arabic teacher on each chapter of the story, walking you through all the vocabulary and grammar you need to know
The magic of this course is a combination of things:
A fun story, filled with plenty of drama, using upper beginner - lower intermediate language, separated into 30 chapters, delivered to you throughout the entirety of Ramadan.
In 30 days, you will improve your Egyptian Arabic massively…
And have a lot of fun doing it.
(Although, important note - no pressure to study for 30 days in a row. You have lifetime access to each lesson once it's added to your account, so the course will always be ready when you are. :D)
This leads me to something very important...
And something that you should know as a potential student of ours:
Our Four Promises To You
When we were working through this course…
We realized that it essentially gives you four different things.
Enroll in The City That Never Sleeps, and we promise you:
#1: Better Egyptian Arabic skills
This one is obvious and the most important. Stick with the course, show up every day over the 30 days (or at least most days), and you will get better at Egyptian Arabic. Here are some quick stats for you about the course:
- Over 4,000 words in total throughout the story (a ton of learning content)
- Full transcripts and audio recordings of each chapter (for organized and effective learning)
-
A video lesson every day from our Egyptian Arabic teacher (so you have a helpful guide to the entire story)
If you want to get better at Egyptian Arabic in 30 days…
The City That Never Sleeps is how you do it.
#2: Accountability
This is typically something people struggle with in language courses.
They sign up for one, and then they’re basically left on their own. This makes it really difficult to stay motivated.
The City That Never Sleeps fixes that.
Here are the ways the course keeps you accountable and on track:
- 30 straight days of chapters. This style of “one chapter a day” makes it easier to stay focused and consistent.
- 30 straight days of emails. I’ll be sending you an email every day of Ramadan just to check up with you. The purpose of this is to keep you motivated and consistently logging in.
- Membership in our exclusive Facebook group. This is a big one. Use the group to ask questions about the story, get clarification on specific grammar, or just meet other students. The group administrator is Haneen, the course teacher, so ask anything you need to!
As for our third promise:
#3: Connection to Egyptian culture
I’ll be honest with you - Ramadan is awesome.
The holy month gave me some of the best times I ever had living in Cairo. The sense of community and “being part of something” (even if you aren’t Muslim) is incredible.
While this course isn’t specifically about Ramadan, it still takes place throughout the entire month. Egyptians are dedicating themselves to 30 days of something challenging (fasting)...
And this course gives you the chance to dedicate yourself to studying Egyptian Arabic.
Even though it’s not religious, we think learning Egyptian Arabic intensively is a pretty cool way to celebrate Ramadan…
And it will certainly connect you more deeply to Egyptian culture (and probably make you appreciate the beauty of Ramadan in a whole different way).
Lastly, if you enroll in The City That Never Sleeps, we also promise you:
#4: A lot of fun
This story is pretty cool. :)
I wrote the English version myself, put in some twists, random unexpected storylines...
And wrapped it all up in a story whose three main characters all have different reasons for being drawn to Egyptian culture.
The City That Never Sleeps truly has something for everyone...
And will have you learning Egyptian Arabic and enjoying it.
No more boring textbooks, group classes, or awkward YouTube videos that don’t get you anywhere. People love stories, they love drama, they love twists and turns…
And The City That Never Sleeps has plenty of them!
If this all sounds like something you want to check out...
We’ve got great news…
The Price Of Your Investment
We could say something cheesy like “we put our heart and soul into this course” (which is completely true), but much more important is one simple fact:
This course will quickly make you much better at Egyptian Arabic.
With 30 straight days of lessons, all based on a story that you’re actually excited to read..
How could it not?
So-
How much does it cost?
Well...
What would you be paying for 30 lessons with a decent Egyptian Arabic teacher?
Even at a pretty cheap price (20 dollars an hour)...
You would pay at least 600 dollars.
But enroll during this first ever launch of The City That Never Sleeps, and you won’t be paying nearly as much.
In fact…
You’re only paying a fraction of that.
Enroll now, and you won't be paying 600 dollars...
Or 500 dollars...
Or 400 dollars...
Or 300 dollars...
And not even 200 dollars.
Enroll now, and your investment in your Egyptian Arabic skills is...
Just 149 dollars! :)
That’s less than five bucks per chapter + lesson of this course!
Again, for just 149 dollars, you get:
- 30 chapters of the same drama-filled story, delivered to you every single day of Ramadan (February 28, 2025 - March 29, 2025)
- A full written transcript (along with audio recordings) of every single chapter
- A video lesson from our awesome Egyptian Arabic teacher Haneen for each chapter of the story, walking you through all the vocabulary and grammar you need to know
And as if that's not enough...
That’s not even everything you're getting!
Because we’re so excited, and truly do want you to both learn a ton of Egyptian Arabic and have fun doing it…
We wanted to put together a super cool package just for you.
So, if you enroll during this special course launch for The City That Never Sleeps...
One more drumroll….
We’re also including a bunch of stuff for free!
Here Are Your $247 Worth Of FREE Bonuses
Enroll during this special launch and here are your bonuses, free of charge:
1) 30 days of emails (worth 45 dollars)
I will be emailing you each day of Ramadan. This will include a link to that day’s chapter + lesson, some useful background on that chapter, a bit of motivation for you, and any other useful information I think would be helpful. This isn’t a “you’re in and now we forget about you” course. I’ll be with you every step of the way during Ramadan (with my award-winning cough cough pretty decent emails) to keep you on track. :D
2) 60 days membership in our Facebook group (worth 49 dollars)
This will be an exclusive Facebook group only available new students. It will be run by the same teacher (Haneen) that gives you lessons throughout the entirety of the course. Use this group as a chance to ask any questions, look for advice, or just meet other Egyptian Arabic students!
3) “How To Use This Course” deep dive (worth 20 dollars)
There is going to be quite a lot of material in this course, and even though it’s going to improve your Egyptian Arabic massively, I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. With that in mind, I put together a comprehensive resource about how exactly to use The City That Never Sleeps. This basically answers every question you could possibly have about the course. I will be sending it to you a few hours before the first chapter goes out on February 28th.
4) Tashkeel document for all chapters (worth 27 dollars)
Tashkeel are markings on Arabic letters that students often use to help with pronunciation. While I don't typically recommend people use them (you can become dependent on them, native speakers don't use them, and you already have the recordings) some people like them. This document ensures absolute, 100% correct pronunciation for students.
5) "No English" document (worth 27 dollars)
Once you've gone through each chapter of this course, it’s super useful to study them without English. This furthers your comprehension and shows you just how much you've learned! This PDF has all 30 chapters with Arabic + Franco transliterations, but with no English.
6) Free access to our Anki for Egyptian Arabic Course (worth 79 dollars)
Our last bonus is free enrollment to the Anki course we are releasing later this year (late April - early May). Anki is a super effective “spaced repetition” app for vocabulary, and I used it to create over 3,000 Egyptian Arabic vocabulary cards. The course will give you access to all of them, as well as some useful background information on how to effectively use Anki to increase your Egyptian Arabic fluency.
If you do the math...
The free bonuses are actually worth more than the course itself!
So, to recap-
If you want to check out The City That Never Sleeps and massively improve your Egyptian Arabic in 30 days...
You get a 30 chapter “Ramadan series” course…
Along with 30 straight days of Egyptian Arabic lessons…
All designed specifically for Egyptian Arabic learners…
And $247 dollars worth of exclusive FREE bonuses…
For just 149 bucks.
And the best part of all:
We Guarantee Results
The City That Never Sleeps comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.
Starting on the day that you get enrolled in the course (the first day of Ramadan, February 28th), you have the full 30 days to check it out.
If for any reason you don’t like it (or get sick of all that drama ;D)...
You get a refund.
Just email me at [email protected] and I’ll take care of it.
Remember - 30 days is the duration of the entire story. That means you can basically go through the entire thing and still get a refund.
This means there is ZERO risk to you in enrolling...
And shows you just how confident I am in the effectiveness of this new course.
All that said…
If this is something you want to check out, you have to hurry, because…
We Are Closing Enrollment On February 27th At 11:59 PM PST
The reason for this is obvious at this point:
Ramadan starts on February 28th. 🙂
Starting on February 28th, you will get 30 straight days of Egyptian Arabic lessons...
And everything else I discussed above.
If you haven't signed up by February 28th…
We are starting without you. :)
So- if you want to lock in the greatest deal you’ll ever see on this special “Ramadan series” course...
Now is the time to act! :)
Invest Now In The Coolest Egyptian Arabic Course Ever Made
If you want to get better at Egyptian Arabic…
You want to do it through a fun story…
And you want to be part of the first ever "Ramadan Series For Egyptian Arabic Students"...
AKA, The City That Never Sleeps...
We would absolutely love to have you!
I know firsthand the struggles of finding interesting but effective material to learn Egyptian Arabic...
And if you're looking for the solution...
The City That Never Sleeps is it.
As always...
Happy learning!
Eric & Tarek
Your Questions Answered
What is this course all about?
It’s basically an Arabic soap opera (“Ramadan series”) created as an in-depth learning experience for Egyptian Arabic students. I know how useful (and fun) Ramadan series are for people learning Egyptian Arabic, but I know firsthand that their level is too difficult for most people. That’s why we created this brand new course!
Do I have to study for 30 days in a row?
Nope! You have lifetime access to each lesson once it's added to your course account, so the course will always be ready when you are. Even if you can't start right away, enrolling now locks in the lower price for whenever you are ready.
What if it’s too hard?
We worked with a team of Egyptian Arabic teachers to make sure the level of the story is no higher than “lower intermediate.” That means even if you are a complete beginner in Egyptian Arabic, it definitely won’t be too difficult if you stick with it - especially with 30 video lessons from your teacher included!
Why should I trust you?
Because Egyptian Arabic is all we do. Cleo Lingo’s mission from day 1 (back in 2018) has been simple and specific: teach you Egyptian Arabic. Egyptian Arabic is all we do, and it’s all we’ll ever do. We have published ~250 posts on learning Egyptian Arabic the last six years and have thousands of readers each month. Also, as a non-native speaker of Egyptian Arabic, I know the struggle well + what you need to do to learn the dialect fast.
What are the free bonuses that I get?
- 30 days of emails that will help you study each of the 30 chapters (worth 45 dollars)
- A “How To Use This Course” deep dive to make absolutely sure you get your return on your investment from enrolling in the course (worth 20 dollars)
- 60 days membership in our Facebook group. This will be moderated by the same Egyptian Arabic teacher who gives you an in-depth lesson for each chapter of the course (worth 49 dollars)
- "No English" document of all 30 chapters together so you can really push yourself when studying (worth 27 dollars)
- Tashkeel document of all 30 chapters together for extra help on correct pronunciation (worth 27 dollars)
- Free access to our Anki for Egyptian Arabic Course with all of my 3,000+ Egyptian Arabic Anki vocabulary cards (worth 79 dollars)
What is the difference between Egyptian Arabic Conversations (Beginner) and this new Ramadan series course?
Our Conversations (Beginner) course is all about “deep end of the pool” immersion: give you a bunch of recorded conversations and send you on your way. This is an effective way to learn. However, those 40 conversations aren’t really part of the same story. The 30 chapters of the Ramadan series course are. Plus, it will be a more in-depth learning experience with the 30 recorded lessons from your teacher.
How long do I have access to the course?
Forever! :) Plus, like I mention above, don’t feel pressured to study for 30 days in a row. You get 30 lessons over 30 days, but that doesn’t mean you have to study every single day.
What if I don’t like it?
We offer a 30 day money back guarantee starting on Ramadan. What this means is that once we enroll you in the course when Ramadan starts (February 28th), you will have 30 days to test it out. If you don’t like the experience, just let me know and I will refund you - no questions asked. This means there is zero risk for you.
When does this special course launch end?
Thursday, February 27th at 11:59 PM. We start with chapter one on the first day of Ramadan (February 28th), so if you don’t enroll by then, we will be getting started without you!