So last Thursday, best friend and I had the opportunity of visiting the Janadriyya 2012 festival situated an hour outside Riyadh city. We hopped onto the bus at around 15:45 but only got to the Janadriyya at around 18:30 due to the horrendous traffic. At the gate we were greeted by military personnel who were making sure that no single males enter the premises. In previous years the Janadriyya allocated specific days for males and females but this year it was open to families and single females only. This has created an uproar with the religious police and there has been reports from people that frequented the Janadriyya that approximately 60 mutawwa or religious police gathered outside the festival and had an altercation with the military as they were not allowed inside. Apparently a few gun shots were fired in the air in order to disperse them. These reports have been denied by the military, however many onlookers have confirmed this report as true. The religious police were against the mixing of the sexes as families entered together and they also had an issue with the beautifully orchestrated traditional dances which they believe caused the women to clap and sway themselves thereby stirring the desire of males. Absolute nonsense in my opinion!!
The fact that families were allowed to enter together without segregation is in my opinion a bold step made by the octogenarian Monarchy Abu Metab who is known to be a reformer and a promoter of women's rights. I personally think that this is a big step in the right direction. The feeling inside the festival was like any other country. Everyone interacted and enjoyed the activities that were offered. Naturally there were many expatriates that visited to get an insight into Saudi culture and they all interacted very well with the local Saudi people.
The Janadriyya festival is basically a festival that highlights the arts, culture, poetry, dance and traditional heritage of the Saudi people from all over the Kingdom. Each year a guest nation is also invited to showcase and promote their country. This year Korea was the guest of honour. The city of Medina, Abha, Jizan,Qassim and Jeddah all had the opportunity to showcase their unique customs and traditions. I particularly enjoyed the dance by Jizan. It was a very vibrant dance that had a lovely beat and tempo to it. There was a cute little boy that was a part of the group and he was dancing away simply enjoying himself to the adoration of the entire crowd present.
Many artisans and craftsmen from all over the Kingdom had the opportunity to showcase their talent. I was particularly impressed with the lampshades made out of seashells and a frame with Arabic calligraphy carved out of a tree trunk. The artisan was apparently offered SR25000 for his masterpiece but he refused to sell it as it was his passion. He crafted and sculpted purely for pleasure and as a hobby. There was also a hall dedicated entirely to females only. This hall showcased traditional Saudi clothing for women and also the wedding customs that usually occur when a Saudi woman gets married. For those women who were enthusiastic to adorn their hands with henna, their were many henna artists availale to carry out this task as well
The Korean hall was very futuristic and high tech as the country aimed at showcasing themselves as the leaders in technology. At the entrance of the hall we were greeted by Korean representatives who were very warm and welcoming and allowed guests to take photos with them. One of the female represenatives could speak perfect Arabic to the amazement of local people.The main foyer then led into a time tunnel that highlighted the ongoing relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Korea. At the end of the time tunnel guests were welcomed to a full fledged state of the art 3D movie theatre. The Saudi people were very happy with this feature as there are no cinemas in the country. Despite this, Saudis are very knowledgable when it comes to movies and cinema as they do watch the latest films in the comfort of their own homes or abroad. For many of the Bedouin type people the cimena was quite and attraction as well as a fascination. Whilst I felt that the hall was impressive in terms of LCD screens and technology, I was expecting the country to have showcased more on their culture and heritage in terms of arts and crafts. The Korean dances were beautifully choreographed and got the entire crowd stamping their feet, clapping and cheering them on. Local Saudis seemed impressed with the Korean display and I can assure you that many Saudis will choose Korea as their next holiday destination. Best friend and I also had the opportunity of meeting two Korean diplomats who actually escorted us in to the venue and prevented us from waiting in the long queue outside
There were many little eating stalls available where you could grab a bite and best friend and I were quite famished after the two hour bus ride getting to the Janadriyya. We bought some mutabbak (a snack or an appetizer stuffed with egg, garlic, meat and onion) and shwarmas. It was delicious.We washed it down with an ice cold 'Bebsi' and were rejuvenated to walk from one hall to the next.
With a country so rich and diverse in culture and heritage I fail to understand why the new generation Saudi's have turned to the west for inspiration. Saudi youth have tried to adopt the American way of life in terms of thinking, clothing, style and fashion and yet what their own country has is truly remarkable and beautiful. I urge and encourage all the Saudi youth out there to go back to their roots and learn about their culture and to hold onto it for future generations to come. A very big thumbs up and heartiest congratulations to the various ministries involved in making the Janadriyya festival a well organised and a fun filled educational event that is undoubtedly on par with any other international event.
The fact that families were allowed to enter together without segregation is in my opinion a bold step made by the octogenarian Monarchy Abu Metab who is known to be a reformer and a promoter of women's rights. I personally think that this is a big step in the right direction. The feeling inside the festival was like any other country. Everyone interacted and enjoyed the activities that were offered. Naturally there were many expatriates that visited to get an insight into Saudi culture and they all interacted very well with the local Saudi people.
The Janadriyya festival is basically a festival that highlights the arts, culture, poetry, dance and traditional heritage of the Saudi people from all over the Kingdom. Each year a guest nation is also invited to showcase and promote their country. This year Korea was the guest of honour. The city of Medina, Abha, Jizan,Qassim and Jeddah all had the opportunity to showcase their unique customs and traditions. I particularly enjoyed the dance by Jizan. It was a very vibrant dance that had a lovely beat and tempo to it. There was a cute little boy that was a part of the group and he was dancing away simply enjoying himself to the adoration of the entire crowd present.
Many artisans and craftsmen from all over the Kingdom had the opportunity to showcase their talent. I was particularly impressed with the lampshades made out of seashells and a frame with Arabic calligraphy carved out of a tree trunk. The artisan was apparently offered SR25000 for his masterpiece but he refused to sell it as it was his passion. He crafted and sculpted purely for pleasure and as a hobby. There was also a hall dedicated entirely to females only. This hall showcased traditional Saudi clothing for women and also the wedding customs that usually occur when a Saudi woman gets married. For those women who were enthusiastic to adorn their hands with henna, their were many henna artists availale to carry out this task as well
The Korean hall was very futuristic and high tech as the country aimed at showcasing themselves as the leaders in technology. At the entrance of the hall we were greeted by Korean representatives who were very warm and welcoming and allowed guests to take photos with them. One of the female represenatives could speak perfect Arabic to the amazement of local people.The main foyer then led into a time tunnel that highlighted the ongoing relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Korea. At the end of the time tunnel guests were welcomed to a full fledged state of the art 3D movie theatre. The Saudi people were very happy with this feature as there are no cinemas in the country. Despite this, Saudis are very knowledgable when it comes to movies and cinema as they do watch the latest films in the comfort of their own homes or abroad. For many of the Bedouin type people the cimena was quite and attraction as well as a fascination. Whilst I felt that the hall was impressive in terms of LCD screens and technology, I was expecting the country to have showcased more on their culture and heritage in terms of arts and crafts. The Korean dances were beautifully choreographed and got the entire crowd stamping their feet, clapping and cheering them on. Local Saudis seemed impressed with the Korean display and I can assure you that many Saudis will choose Korea as their next holiday destination. Best friend and I also had the opportunity of meeting two Korean diplomats who actually escorted us in to the venue and prevented us from waiting in the long queue outside
There were many little eating stalls available where you could grab a bite and best friend and I were quite famished after the two hour bus ride getting to the Janadriyya. We bought some mutabbak (a snack or an appetizer stuffed with egg, garlic, meat and onion) and shwarmas. It was delicious.We washed it down with an ice cold 'Bebsi' and were rejuvenated to walk from one hall to the next.
With a country so rich and diverse in culture and heritage I fail to understand why the new generation Saudi's have turned to the west for inspiration. Saudi youth have tried to adopt the American way of life in terms of thinking, clothing, style and fashion and yet what their own country has is truly remarkable and beautiful. I urge and encourage all the Saudi youth out there to go back to their roots and learn about their culture and to hold onto it for future generations to come. A very big thumbs up and heartiest congratulations to the various ministries involved in making the Janadriyya festival a well organised and a fun filled educational event that is undoubtedly on par with any other international event.
