Actors bring back Jeddah’s past at festival

JEDDAH: The Historical Jeddah Festival is giving the new generation glimpses of the past with different activities and has turned into live theater where more than 200 people represent different characters.
Actors wear costumes to depict how caravans of pilgrims came to the port of Jeddah, including old bakers, water sellers and vendors who sold clothes, food and much more. People belonging to dozens of professions from the past can be seen live in action. Hundreds of stories of the past are presented at one platform simultaneously.
“I am here to visit the historical festival of Jeddah and am enjoying each and every moment of the past, the past which I never saw. I didn’t know that earlier there were no water pipelines and people used to sell water on donkeys or in tins on their shoulders. It’s fantastic to experience how caravans of pilgrims came on camels or by ship,” said 25-year-old Mohammed Zahrani.
He also said that it is quite impressive how the Kingdom has progressed over the years, but visiting the historical festival gave him an idea of how people lived in past decades.
The festival portrays some of the common activities such as the preparation of bread, the cooking of traditional and cultural foods, how the people of old Jeddah honored pilgrims, and how pilgrims came to the port of Jeddah.
Another visitor to the festival, Rashid Abu Ahmed, said he noticed there were a number of characters moving around and visitors particularly enjoyed the character of the old grandmother who visited all the homes in the district and sent them food. Sending food to neighbors was an old tradition which built bridges between neighbors.
“Such traditions are vanishing, as sending food to neighbors is gone. Now people are least bothered as to who lives next door. We should not let these traditions die,” he said.
The organizing committee said that the actors representing different historical figures were selected carefully and trained by a special technical committee made up of experts to fit into their individual roles.
Hussein Qaid plays the role of the water carrier, or “Sakka”, who hawks water in tins carried on his shoulders. He calls out at the top of his voice asking if anyone needs water, as in the past water was distributed in homes by Sakka, who for few pennies brought the tin of water on his shoulders and distributed it to homes in the district.
With Hussein Qaid is Khalid Abdullah, who acts the part of a person who needs water for his home and shop. He enthralls visitors by presenting stand-up comedy on the spot.