By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS
RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah inaugurated the 25th National Heritage and Culture Festival at Janadriya, 45 km north of the capital city, on Wednesday.
The two-week event opened with a spectacular camel race. “This cultural fair is a realization of our nation’s identity and to feature our values and heritage with a mission to make it known to one and all,” said Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the National Guard’s deputy commander for executive affairs, speaking at the event.
He added that a large number of programs have been lined up and that over one million visitors are expected. “All preparations have been made to make the festival a grand success,” he said.
Prince Miteb said that about 1,000 artists from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as well as France, have been invited to take part in the annual event.
At Janadriya village itself, King Abdullah gave away prizes to the winners of the first round of the camel race.
At the end of the first round, King Abdullah distributed prizes to the first five winners: Hadaj, Sayel, Tuwaik, Mashhour and Taif, all owned by Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd. Cash prizes totaling SR1 million were handed out to the winners of the race. The first two winners also received special prizes of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
France is the guest of honor at this year’s event. The French minister of culture and communication, Frederic Mitterrand, son of the former president, delivered a speech during the opening session. He thanked King Abdullah and spoke of France’s gratitude for “inviting it to be the guest of honor at the most important cultural event in Saudi Arabia.” He added that France wants to honor “the strength of your convictions about dialogue between peoples, religions and civilizations” and spoke of the “special and ancient” relationship between France and the Kingdom.
He explained that today President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted not only to continue France’s established policy based on mutual respect and dialogue between the two cultures, but to renew and strengthen it. The king, he said, had honored France by demonstrating on various occasions his desire to know France better and to establish a “lasting and solid relationship, based on mutual understanding of our two peoples and their interests but also of their common hope of living in a world free of intolerance, discrimination and injustice.”
Referring to the king’s speech at the UN in 2008 on interfaith dialogue, he said that the king had wanted to help open eyes to the unacceptable nature of violence that is committed in the name of a faith, but only diminishes those who imagine they are exalting it.
The king’s interfaith initiative, the minister said, was “inspired by humanity’s highest values as expressed by the Muslim faith.” It was also an expression of the “noble tradition” of Arab courage, honor and generosity — values which, he said, made men free.
He said the Janadriya festival had been established by the king to preserve and celebrate the unique and timeless character of the Arabian Peninsula in a world where globalization “risked making the individual lose a sense of his identity, ancestral heritage and history”. France, he said, was likewise strongly attached to its identity and culture.
At the French pavilion, the king was given a salute by First Regiment of Spahis, a French cavalry regiment originally recruited among North African Arabs.
The opening was also attended by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman, and a UNESCO delegation led by its director general, Irina Bokova.
A special annual prize for translation named after King Abdullah was also announced on the occasion.
Several prominent singers including Mohammad Abdu, Abdul Majeed Abdullah, Rashid Al-Majed, Abbas Ebrahim Majed Al-Muhandes, child artist Khalid Al-Jehan, famous French singer Sofia Essaïdi, who performs in both French and Arabic, participated in the musical program on Wednesday. Saudi poet Abdullah bin Drees was honored as Personality of the Year.
The Janadriya village comprises sections representing the Kingdom’s different regions.
Arab News
