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Managed to get a copy of the Saudi Gazette featuring an article written by Peter Harrigan about the expedition - how bizarre to see ourselves in a Saudi Newspaper. (A few days later we did a follow up interview with another Saudi Gazette reporter - we spent 2 hours describing what felt like every inch of our journey through Saudi Arabia - but in the finished item he seemed more interested in the fact that Richard looked 'dashing' in his suit and the colour of my hair matched my 'simple gold jewellery'. OK.....) Khalid picked us up early to take us first to the Riyadh Museum and then to meet Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz (Minister of Tourism and son of the Governor of Riyadh ) - a chance for us to thank him for his role in organising our invitations. He was extremely enthusiastic about the expedition - at the moment, great efforts are being made to ensure that Saudi Arabia's history is not forgotten or its heritage lost. And for those of you who think that Saudi Arabia is just a giant sandpit, (one overlander that we met in Aqaba wanted to know why on earth we wanted to visit Saudi Arabia - 'there's nothing there'), the Council for Tourism has already identified 10,000 sites that would be of interest to visitors. |
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16th January 2003 Prince Sultan suggested we should visit the Janadriyah Cultural Festival, held for two weeks in the spring of each year at a purpose built site on the outskirts of Riyadh. The event is organised and managed by the National Guard - the Folklore Village is the main attraction, sword dancers demonstrate the Ardah, the Saudi National Dance, and songs and music from the various regions are featured daily. It was only when we arrived that I understood why a friend of ours, who lives in Riyadh, seemed rather surprised that we were off to the Festival today. The Festival has family days - for men and women - and this was not one of them. And I was very obviously not a Saudi man. The fact that we had five soldiers escorting Khalid, Richard and I around the festival certainly helped matters - no need for queuing. We were met by the head of the Medina section and after a brief tour where whisked off to the VIP tent - coffee, tea, dates and bags of gifts - wonderful, but if this continues we're going to need a second vehicle to get it all home... |
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It was then suggested that we might like to watch a display of traditional dancing that is usually seen at Saudi weddings. Why not? So off we went, the soldiers forcing their way through the crowds of men and out into a courtyard... I suddenly had the horrible realisation that I was going to have to walk across the centre of the courtyard - clear now except for the dancers - and before I had the chance to go into reverse Khaild said 'come on then' and strode off. As I stepped out, an enormous roar went up - I think someone had spotted me? Mortified, I shuffled across the courtyard thinking 'please don't let me fall over'. Shrinking into my seat, the dancing started and, thankfully, everyone's attention was diverted.
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The Festival is fantastic - the three hours we spent there really did not do it justice. Sections of towns from each of the regions in Saudi Arabia have been painstakingly reproduced with meticulous attention to detail and the buildings show the different architectural styles associated with each region. One aspect of Saudi Arabia that will stick with me is the smell of incense that assaults your nose at every turn. A particular wood - and I still haven't found out the name - is burnt; it comes in a variety of qualities costing between a couple to a thousand Saudi Riyals. Small incense burners are passed from person to person and the smoke wafted over their clothes - and giant burners stand in shopping centre, belching out smoke. I love the smell - unfortunately it reduces Richard to a sneezing wreck. |
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