Fireworks a big draw in Riyadh

With citizen and residents driving to these various points of celebrations and also visiting family and friends on the happy occasion, traffic in different parts of the city was heavy. But invariably there were no major traffic snafus.
The fireworks at  King Abdullah Road near  Prince Sultan University, one of seven areas specified, was witnessed by the majority of the city residents.
There were equal numbers of foreigners and Saudis with the majority of families preferring to watch the light show in the sky by placing themselves near the lights-draped date trees that surround the university. People who came late found it difficult to find a place to park their cars, and some had to walk long distances to join the celebrations.
Indian Suhail Iqbal, who had brought his family, had to walk a distance.
“I was a bit late, and had to park my car far from the PSU,” Iqbal said, adding that as "my children insisted on watching the fireworks from close we had to walk a distance. But it was worth it.”
A group of Filipinos was there already. Edmond Frank said they had a detailed program and that really helped them to decide when and where to go.
The celebration was opened officially by Acting Gov. of Riyadh Prince Sattam at Qasr Al-Hukm, where he joined performers of Saudi traditional sword dance along with some princes and officials. There were five Saudi teams participating in the show that represented different regions of the Kingdom.
Elsewhere at the Diplomatic Quarter, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Ibrahim Chao received guests from a number of European diplomatic corps including Rexhep Boja, charge d’affaires of Kosovo Embassy, and Admirin Banaj, ambassador of Albania.
Expressing his gratitude, Chao said King Abdullah’s program for the Haram expansion was remarkable. This would enable 130,000 pilgrims to perform tawaf (circumambulation) at a time. This is really a historic achievement and the Ummah should be thankful to him. “I personally express my appreciation on this unprecedented expansion and the immense services provided by the Saudi government to the Muslims coming for Umrah and Haj,” the diplomat said.
Ambassador Banaj said this is a beautiful moment that helped foster brotherhood. "The country has the ability and tools to make Eid celebration an enjoyable experience,” he said.
Ambassador Boja added, “We don’t have this atmosphere in Europe. Here we visit each other during Eid and exchange greetings.”
Hamza Sahin, education consul at the Turkish Embassy, said that he was at Al-Kindi at the DQ and was able to watch the Saudi folklore dance.
“This brought about fond memories of our country,” Shin said, adding, “the most moving moment here was my visits during the last 10 days to Makkah and Madinah where I felt the pure spirit of the Ramadan.”