The 28th Janadriyah Cultural Festival has Saudis, expatriates and foreign visitors alike enjoying the Kingdom’s historic past, vibrant present and, expectedly, a colorful future.
“The festival encapsulates Saudi Arabia’s colorful history,” said visitor Eric P. Asi, a senior engineer at a lighting company.
The colorful event gives a glimpse of how the Kingdom had evolved from what was virtually a Bedouin state to a fast-emerging modern nation and a regional economic powerhouse, he said.
He added that watching the various activities, artifacts, and other cultural items on display at the different pavilions calls to mind the collective efforts of the hardy early Saudis who pooled their resources to make the Kingdom into what it has become.
“In the hearts and minds of every Saudi visiting the festival must be an upsurge of immense pride and happiness,” said Asi’s wife.
On days when the festival is open to families, Saudis in their white top and red-and-white ghutra or shoumagh (head covering) walk around the numerous pavilions with their wives in black abaya.
Many of the visitors have attended the festival a number of times in the past but it looked as if they were there for the first time in search of something new, seemingly unmindful of the scorching heat during the day.
“That many Saudis have repeatedly attended the festival over the years is expected. This is because it concerns them. It makes them understand the present and probably the future by knowing their past,” said Salim Al-Nahdy, a Saudi business development officer.
“Attending the festival is a way of showing love for what belongs to you and respect for your Saudi origin. It is a way to show patriotism.”
This could have been the reason why Saudis of both genders and of all ages are at the festival as if it were a national holiday. While the men take the lead as head of their family, the wives listen to what their husband has to say while looking after the kids.
The presence of women indicates that they too want to be involved in the mainstream of contemporary cultural events. The presence of women enhances the cultural significance of the festival.
“They are the light of the home and for me personally they are also the heart and soul of this cultural event,” said Ali Al-Nakhly, an executive at a publishing firm.
Yusuf Makki, one of Saudi Arabia’s best-known intellectuals, said the festival “has made tremendous progress and has been instrumental in spurring discussions on a variety of cultural issues.”
In celebrating the event in earlier years, intellectual discussions on cultural issues were not as stimulating as they are now, said a participant in a discussion.
“It seems that these cultural discussions have gained adherents over the years. Many of the participants even come from other countries and their participation has made the discussion livelier and more enlightening,” he said.
Some 300 intellectuals, writers, artists and artisans from the Kingdom and other countries are attending the festival.
Mohammed Al-Adil, chairman of the Arab-Turkish Society of Culture and Arts, said the festival had become a gateway for cooperation and communication among cultures and forums.
“Festivals and forums are instrumental in furthering diplomatic and cultural relations among nations,” he said.
“If time and again this has been disproven, it’s simply because we’re not living in a perfect world. I remember my old teacher at graduate school who said that there’s no such thing as a perfect thing.”
Meynard M. Pesig, an engineer at a private company, added, “The Janadriyah Festival was a melting pot for ideas, since it hosted a seemingly never-ending stream of cultural discussion such as the kick-off symposium, ‘Saudi Arabia and International Balance’.”
He added that the symposium focused on three major themes: Islam, energy and peace.
“Listening to the discussions is enlightening. It stirs the mind. It makes you understand contemporary issues in the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia. I’m sure that every expatriate listening to the different opinions on the issues mentioned will be engrossed in the discussions,” he said.
Muhannad Baidhain, professor of human civilizations, said, “The symposium is built on the centric position of the Kingdom in the context of its relations and communication with world civilizations. Saudi behavior, in this context, is governed by Islam, around which its system of relations with other countries is primarily evolving.”
Since energy constitutes the nerve of the global economy, he said, the Kingdom has founded its economic relations with others on the principle that it never accepts tampering with the security of energy and to deal with it with utmost responsibility.
He said this principle reflects the real meaning of Islam, which is dedicated to achieving security, stability and peace all over the world. He added that the festival is a unique cultural and humanitarian gathering that promoted valuable intellectual dialogue among different think tanks from different countries.
The festival is open to all, so that Saudis and foreigners alike may know as much as possible about the Kingdom. However, in keeping with tradition, the organizing committee decided to open the festival separately for men, women and family. The doors for men started April 4 (Thursday) April 7, a Sunday.
The inaugural ceremony was opened a day earlier under the auspices of the Custosian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. On the days that it is open to women only, the activities include henna-etching and Arabic make-up displays which are not available on the other days. In 1998, the Janadriyadh Fetival honored women artists, poets, singers, and folk dancers of Asir, with a three-day women’ s music festival.
For the first time their local traditions took to a wider stage where it was much appreciated.
The numerous and different cultural Saudi artifacts on display at the festival like knifes, swords, slippers, and also a camel-drawn pail used to draw water from a well, reflected the era in which Saudi ancestors lived.
“The different artifacts on display give a glimpse of history. They are a key to how Saudi ancestors lived: how they cooked their food, where they got water, and how they made their slippers, among others,” said Miriam Rontale, a teacher at an international school.
The artifacts are a key to the distant past. In this regard, the Makkah pavilion mounted the kind of architecture during the early times in Makkah, Taif and Madinah. Wooden balconies called “Rawshan” characterized the Hejazi architectural style.
The festival also portrayed the kind of social life back then. The camel and horse races show the kind of sport and entertainment that the early Saudis indulged in.
The camel races, a long-standing festival tradition, feature six individual competitions for prizes worth SR 1.5 million and ten cars.
The festival also hosts several horse races and endurance races as part of its entertainment program. These races are the forerunners of the modern car racing held in various parts of the world today.
A photography competition open to the public has also been launched. The pavilion of Aaks Photographic Group, which is organizing the contest, is exhibiting 500 photographs. The contest aims to document the festival’s events and programs through photos.
“I’m happy that I have been able to come and visit the festival about which I have only read and heard from home. I’ll go home with a treasure of memories that I’ll keep the rest of my life,” said a western journalist covering the event.
