The studio segment of the program was taped in a 5,400-square-foot (500 m2) studio between May and December 1978. The show premiered in autumn 1979. 130 half-hour episodes were aired five times a week over twenty-six weeks. “Iftah Ya Simsim” was the first Sesame Street co-production in Arabic, originally intended for pan-Arabian television distribution. Today localised versions of Sesame Street are being produced in Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. __
