TAIF: Something wonderful happens annually in the city of Taif, which is situated over Al-Hada Mountain above Makkah and on the eastern slopes of the Sarawat Mountains. Known locally as the “City of Roses,” each year, Taif bursts into bloom with thousands of soft pink, fragrant roses.
For years, roses have played an important part in various Saudi ceremonies, including weddings and formal occasions. Today, the roses are harvested across Taif and then turned into rose oil and water.
The Taif Rose Festival is held in celebration of this harvest and is currently taking place until May 5.
The third Taif Rose Festival kicked off recently, honoring the city’s rich cultural legacy as a popular tourist destination in the Makkah region and attracting the participation of both locals and tourists.
Around 1 million people gather in and around Taif to witness the festival’s joyous atmosphere.
The festival is organized by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate the cultural and creative values that have been associated with the Taif rose for nine centuries, in collaboration with the Taif Municipality and with funding from the Quality of Life Program, a Saudi Vision 2023 Realization Program.
The festival also provides a platform for local business to showcase their rose-based products.
Ahmed Al-Madani, who traveled all the way from Madinah along with his family, told Arab News that the festival is a must-visit for everyone.
“I am happy to have come all the way from Madinah to enjoy a variety of engaging events,” he said, referencing the various areas dedicated to food, performances, children’s activities and more.
Among the aims of the festival is that of empowering local men and women to develop their skills in cultivating roses and improve their products.
At one of the many stalls selling fragrant roses, 52-year-old Walid Al-Boadani, who has been in the business for 20 years, said that the activities of the Taif Rose Festival have allowed rose farmers to gain much experience.
Khalid Al-Amri, a resident of the Shifa area in Taif and a specialist in Taif roses, told Arab News that his passion for the flowers began in childhood, growing up among the roses of his parents and grandparents.
While it remains a mystery as to how the Taif rose arrived in the area, Al-Amri said it is believed to have come with visiting delegations to the Arabian Peninsula, specifically the Hijaz area, while others say that it has Indian, Damascene or Turkish origins.
“Rose farms across Taif produce nearly 850 tons of rose water yearly with 40,000 tolas of rose oil,” Al-Amri explained. “Each tola is made from 12,000 roses.”
Various events were held on the sidelines of the festival to inform visitors and tourists of the culture surrounding the Taif rose and to render the festival an important economic contributor to sustainable development in the Kingdom.
Investment in Taif roses in the Saudi market reached over SAR64 million ($17 million), with rose farms in the Sarawat Mountains in the governorate of Taif harvesting about 550 million roses annually, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This year, the Ministry of Culture introduced for the first time the Taif Rose Festival Forum under the theme “Roses from Taif to the World,” which aimed to provide a platform for rose farmers and administrators to collaborate with leading brands, accelerating the export of Taif roses to international markets.
The event spanned two days and brought together renowned Saudi and international speakers to discuss cutting-edge topics related to the fragrance industry.
In addition to the expert panel discussions, Saudi and international trainers presented specialized workshops on perfumery-related topics.
Furthermore, the forum held an exhibition, bringing together prominent international brands, rose farmers, and investors to discuss rose production, innovative farming methods, and opportunities for cooperation to benefit the industry.
Taif bursts into color as annual Rose Festival kicks off
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Taif bursts into color as annual Rose Festival kicks off
- The Taif Rose Festival is held in celebration of this harvest and is currently taking place until May 5
- Around 1 million people gather in and around Taif to witness the festival’s joyous atmosphere
‘Aramcorama’ at Ithra: A living archive of energy, culture, memory
- Exhibition showcases how ordinary items can help make extraordinary transformations
DHAHRAN: “Aramcorama,” within Ithra’s museum, reimagines the exhibition experience, turning the Kingdom’s industrial history into a personal and immersive journey.
Rather than simply documenting the rise of the country’s oil industry, the exhibition explores how it shaped cities, communities, and modern life.
It encourages visitors to reflect on how past events changed people’s sense of identity.
“Aramcorama” tells the story through a rich selection of visuals. Geological maps, handwritten notes, internal messages, and photographs trace nearly a century of growth and change.
HIGHLIGHTS
• At ‘Aramcorama’ exhibition, Geological maps, handwritten notes, internal messages, and photographs trace nearly a century of growth and change.
• Visitors can explore how Aramco’s global outlook has influenced not only individual lives but also the nation’s perspective.
Visitors can explore a timeline highlighting each decade and framed by hanging prints and illuminated media displays. This setup creates an engaging environment that feels dynamic and full of discovery.
Abdullah Alshammasi, a longtime engineer at Aramco, spoke to Arab News about how the company influenced more than just the oil and gas industry and impacted generations of employees and locals.
He said: “The company certainly had lasting consequences on the earliest generations that worked in it.
Aramco’s history is the modern history of the communities that lived in the Eastern Province.
Abdullah Alshammasi, Aramco engineer
“The fact is, since the company was established it needed a knowledgeable workforce, so a campaign of education was also established, and it steadily increased in depth from manual skills to softer, more intellectual skills.”
The exhibition also showcases vintage safety posters that were originally used to display workplace rules. These posters show how design and language have changed over the years, highlighting the changes in style and communication.
This section of the exhibition captures the story’s understated honesty, letting ordinary items like posters, letters, and tools tell the story of values, habits, and shifting responsibilities.
As visitors explore the exhibition, they can see how the company’s global outlook has influenced not only individual lives but also the nation’s perspective.
Alshammasi explained: “Generations have now been everywhere around the globe, studying at the best institutions, bringing back with them a better sense of the world, widening their horizons and, therefore, our societies and culture.”
“Aramcorama” ultimately reflects how modern Saudi society was built; not just through buildings and oil fields, but also through education, progress, and mindset.
Alshammasi said: “It tells me that Aramco is as old as our modern lives.”
This fact is especially evident in the Eastern Province, where the company’s presence reshaped daily life, and Alshammasi added: “Aramco’s history is the modern history of the communities that lived in the Eastern Province. Their lives were directly affected by the company, for good and for ill.”
The exhibition does not hide that tension, but invites reflection on both progress and its costs, what was gained and what may have been lost.
“Aramcorama” does not ask visitors to celebrate or criticize, but to notice, reflect, and form their own opinions.
It respects the complexity of history and shows how innovation, labor, infrastructure, and community are all deeply connected.
Saudi fund chief receives Nepal’s ambassador
- They discussed the Saudi fund’s development projects in Nepal and ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries
RIYADH: The CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, Sultan Al-Marshad, received Nepal’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Naresh Bikram Dhakal and his accompanying delegation in Riyadh on Tuesday.
During the meeting, they discussed the Saudi fund’s development projects in Nepal and ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries, the official account said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Saud Al-Sati, deputy minister for political affairs, met with Senegal’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Biram Mbagnick Diagne, in Riyadh and wished him success in his new duties, the foreign ministry said in a post on X.
Saudi crown prince and Iranian president discuss Iran-Israel ceasefire deal
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expresses hope the truce will restore security and stability in the region and prevent further confrontation
RIYADH: During a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel.
The prince expressed the Kingdom’s hope that the truce would help restore security and stability in the region and prevent the risk of further confrontation, the Saudi Press Agency reported. He underscored Saudi Arabia’s consistent position in support of diplomatic dialogue as the preferred path for the resolution of disputes.
The pause in the conflict between Israel and Iran, which began on June 13, was announced hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile strikes on Monday that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military installation in the Middle East.
In the aftermath of the attack, the crown prince spoke with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the country, and strongly condemned what he described as Iran’s “unjustified and blatant aggression” against the Gulf state.
Saudi foreign minister arrives in Doha for emergency GCC meeting
- Session convened to discuss Monday’s Iranian missile attack on US bases in Qatar
DOHA: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Doha on Tuesday to take part in an emergency meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Faisal was received upon arrival by Qatari Minister of State Sultan Al-Muraikhi, Saudi ambassador to Qatar Prince Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan, and GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi.
The emergency session has been convened to discuss Monday’s Iranian missile attack on US bases in Qatar.
The meeting will address the implications of the incident for regional security, as well as collective efforts to restore stability across the Gulf, SPA added.
Saudi cookbooks for kids win ‘Best in World’ Gourmand award
- ‘Aklana’s’ 13 volumes document Saudi culinary and cultural traditions
- Building a ‘golden age’ of literature for kids, publisher tells Arab News
JEDDAH: A children’s cookbook showcasing Saudi Arabia’s rich culinary heritage has won one of the world’s top awards.
Layal Idriss received the 2024 “Best in the World” Gourmand Cookbook Award in Cascais, Portugal, recently for her work as the creative director, publisher, and visual storyteller behind the “Aklana” book series.
The series is an ambitious project documenting the Kingdom’s culinary culture for children.
Speaking to Arab News, Idriss described the award moment as “truly overwhelming.”
The co-founder of Dar Waraqa and Radish House Agency added: “I was honored to be invited to speak on the Gourmand stage about ‘Aklana’ from Saudi Books, highlighting Saudi culinary food and culture.
“To stand there, representing a project that is so dear to my heart, filled me with immense gratitude.”
The “Aklana” series, created in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Culture’s Culinary Arts Commission and published by Dar Waraqa, comprises 13 individually designed books, each dedicated to one of the Kingdom’s provinces.
The series was envisioned as a “holistic cultural journey” for children, designed to inform and delight local and global readers alike.
Idriss explained that “with every dot we put on paper, we recognized that we were serving a global readership.”
To ensure international accessibility, the books were translated into English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
In her role as creative director, she led a team of four to five artists per book, each handpicked to reflect the cultural tone and visual storytelling of the region they depicted.
“The goal was not just beautiful illustrations, but visuals that truly captured the essence of the narrative and cultural elements,” she said.
Ensuring artistic and editorial cohesion across all 13 volumes was no small feat: “Directing multiple artists while maintaining a unified look and feel was a complex yet rewarding challenge.
“From initial sketches to final production, I oversaw every step to guarantee consistency in design and storytelling.”
Alongside project manager Mohammed Hasanain, Idriss also prioritized premium production quality.
She said: “We focused on high-quality production from illustrations to paper believing that a beautifully made book serves as the best messenger for a vibrant culture.”
Speaking about what sets “Aklana” apart globally, Idriss highlighted its unique fusion of cultural depth, educational content and visual excellence.
Each book explores not only food but also local traditions, celebrations and natural resources.
“Many cultural cookbooks might offer recipes, but few delve so comprehensively into the lifestyle, celebrations, and natural resources tied to the food presented through such a rich and consistently high-quality visual narrative,” she said.
For Idriss, this award is validation of a lifelong mission.
“Personally, this award is an incredibly encouraging milestone. I’ve devoted my life to bookmaking with a clear vision: to contribute to building the golden age of children’s literature in Saudi Arabia,” she said.
While “Aklana” focuses on culinary heritage, Idriss believes the same level of dedication must extend to all genres of children’s literature in the Kingdom.
“The underlying passion for creating meaningful and beautifully crafted books remains the same,” she added.
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards receive submissions from more than 221 countries and regions.
Every year, the awards ceremony is held in a location known for its gastronomic heritage, attracting publishers, chefs, authors, and journalists from across the globe.
With “Aklana” now part of both the Saudi and global culinary conversation, Idriss hopes it will spark a new wave of culturally grounded publishing initiatives across the Arab world.
“‘Aklana’s’ success provides a strong model. We hope it inspires future projects in the Kingdom and across the region to delve deeper into cultural exploration, setting new benchmarks for quality in publishing.
“We’re committed to continuing this journey, sharing our books globally, as we believe they are vital cultural messengers.”
