ALBAWABA - Karess Bashar and Barış Arduç sparked online buzz after their Joy Awards moment and Instagram follow.
The Joy Awards 2026, the sixth version of the entertainment industry awards show, was recently held at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season and put together by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). Karess Bashar won the award for Best Actress. The award was given to her for her part as Balqis in the Ramadan show "Taht Sabea Ard" (Under Seventh Land). When Bashar went on stage to take her award, she had a spontaneous moment with Turkish star Barış Arduç that went viral very quickly. After the event, Arduç followed Bashar on Instagram, and she did the same for him.
Turkish stars Hande Erçel and Barış Arduç gave out the Best Actress award live on stage. Four women were up for this award: Alanoud Saud for her part in "Ummi" (My Mother), Elham Ali for her part in "Shari' Al-A'sha" (The Blind Street), Amina Khalil for her part in "Lam Shamsiya" (Sunlight), and Karess Bashar for her part in "Taht Sabea Ard." Hande Erçel stated that Karis Bashar had won the award after showing clips from the work of the four actresses. Hande had trouble pronouncing Karis's name at first, but then he said, "The winner is Karis Bashar." The crowd cheered loudly as they celebrated her win. When Karis Bashar got up from her seat in the hall, Sadiq Al-Sabah, the producer of the Al-Sabah Company, walked up and embraced her. He told her she won the Best Actress award for her part in the series "Taht Sab' Ard" (Under the Seventh Ground), which he produced. Samer Al-Barqawi, who runs the show, also stood up to thank Karis.
As Karess Bashar got up from her place and headed for the stage, Turkish star Barış Arduç rushed forward, holding the award in one hand and helping her up the stairs with the other. He then gave her the award on stage. Karis said, "Oh my God!" as soon as Barış took her hand. Barış joined the crowd in cheering for Karis. Then Karis Bashar spoke to the crowd and thanked them for being so happy about her win. Suddenly and with a laugh, she said, "I don't know if my heart will stop because he held my hand (referring to Barış Arduç) or because I'm standing here." People quickly shared this picture of Karis Bashar and Barış Arduç on social media, praising Barış's good behavior and Karis's funny and playful response.
As Karess Bashar continued her message, she said, "Every year, every winner says that standing here is scary when they get on stage." I agree with them, and they're right. It is truly wonderful to be here, but I loved it, and I hope to do it again next year, God willing. First, I'd like to thank the people and leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their kind support of my country, Syria. I really hope that we can reach the level of wealth and progress that the Kingdom has in record time. I also hope that you stay healthy and continue to be an example for all Arab countries. I want to thank the General Entertainment Authority and His Excellency Advisor Turki Al-Sheikh from the bottom of my heart for putting together this event every year. Also, thank you very much for supporting Syrian art.
"Under Seventh Ground" cast and crew were thanked by Karess Bashar: "I want to thank our partners in success and tell them I am grateful to Al-Sabah Company." Also, I want to thank Mr. Sadek for continuing to put together projects that are intellectually stimulating for Arab viewers year after year, even though our area is having a lot of problems. I hope these projects end well. Thank you also to my friend, the director, Mr. Samer Al-Barqawi. It was a pleasure to work with you, and we will definitely do it again. Also, thank you to Mr. Taim Hassan, my friend, coworker, and best partner; it was great working with you. I want to thank everyone who helped make the show "Under Seventh Ground" happen and reach people all over the Arab world. I also want to thank everyone who voted for me. That I wouldn't be here without you.
Following each other on Instagram, stars Karess Bashar and Barış Arduç caused a lot of conversation on social media after the Joy Awards. This was quickly picked up by both the public and the entertainment media.
Fans were curious about what the two stars were talking about when they were interacting digitally. Some saw it as a sign of professional respect for each other, while others saw it as the start of a possible artistic collaboration between Arab and Turkish drama, given how popular both actors are and how many successful projects they have each had.
