Balad District is hosting Jeddah's first ever Heritage Festival lately...there's hype about it all over Jeddah and people are swarming to watch the attractions at the festival with great enthusiasm.
It is scheduled to entertain and educate people about the rich cultural inheritance of Jeddah for 10 days. Not that great a duration, but it is a move grand enough to revive the almost-diminishing cultural awareness in the (especially Saudi) youth. People in Jeddah seem quite carried away by Western culture lately....lets hope this festival will help in the revival of Saudi Arabian Culture.
They chose a rather old district to host the festival, its not one of those well-developed sites, but was the perfect point to host an event displaying history and heritage...since its loaded with old architectural buildings and the oh-so-famous Balad Museum.
There wasn't as much on display as we expected the first day, but they say its going to get really striking by the following weekend. Despite the limited historical display, it still was interesting.
They displayed the rural Hijazi housing style featuring antique furniture, utensils, electronic appliances and their living habits. They portrayed dressing style of men (thobs) and women (jalabiyaat), everyday tasks like fetching water, selling fruits and stuff like that. Then there were stands and booths of traditional snacks, sweets, bread, jewellery, handicrafts, artwork etc.
Here are some captures of the event:
Update: Here's where you'll find all the most recent updates regarding the festival http://historicjeddah.com/
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| Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah and Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the SCTA, open the Jeddah cultural festival. |
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| Making traditional sweets the traditional way |
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| The carpenters gorgeous yachts |
They chose a rather old district to host the festival, its not one of those well-developed sites, but was the perfect point to host an event displaying history and heritage...since its loaded with old architectural buildings and the oh-so-famous Balad Museum.
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| Traditional Jewellery |
There wasn't as much on display as we expected the first day, but they say its going to get really striking by the following weekend. Despite the limited historical display, it still was interesting.
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| Ladies' Traditional Outfit on display |
Here are some captures of the event:
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| Yes, that antique ambulance! |
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| The locksmith's corner |
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| Giant lock & the key |
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| And finally, the paper artwork (Media Partners' names underneath) |
Update: Here's where you'll find all the most recent updates regarding the festival http://historicjeddah.com/
Those are some great pictures. I am glad they chose an undeveloped location because the culture is richer.
ReplyDeleteI think culture festivals like this remind us of the way I ancestors lived. You have enlightened me to a festival I never heard of. Good work.