We are sitting in his office. It is full of traditional Saudi objects and antiques. I am intrigued by a sword said to be 180 years old. He lets me examine it. “Be careful; the blade is still sharp.” As I touch the curved blade, he tells me, “Look, the handle is made up of horn.” I see the scabbard is black but he tells me, “It is silver but it has darkened with time.”
He is Farid Bukhari, the owner of Desert Designs, a shop in Alkhobar specializing in Saudi handicrafts and artifacts. “I’ve just returned from a buying trip in the Central Province; that’s why everything is scattered around the room,” he said. I looked carefully at what he told me was a cradle. It was a tiny cradle made of camel skin, with beautiful colors. Possibly a labor of love by an expectant mother. I was amazed at what I saw: masks worn by bedouin women, intricately carved dowry chests, daggers and jewelry. I had never realized that people living in tents in the desert would make such things!
How had Bukhari, once a seller of high-quality stereos, become interested in antiques and relics? His family came originally from Makkah though he was brought up in the Eastern Province. “I was never interested in things that glittered and shone. I always preferred older things.”
Farid’s wife, herself an artist, shares his interests. “My wife and I were always on the lookout for old Saudi things for our house. At the time of the Gulf War, I decided to open a shop that would introduce and promote our Saudi heritage and handicrafts. That is how Desert Designs came into existence in 1990.”
Most of the things in the shop are from Saudi Arabia — the Central Province, the northwest and the Hijaz.
Farid said that the old ways of making necessary items were dying out. “The younger generation — both bedouins and town-dwellers — are more interested in making a fast buck. They go for chemical dyes, loose weaving and synthetics which are cheaper and faster. We look for artisans who agree to use natural colors and materials and follow the traditional ways of making things. We pay them well, so they are encouraged and the art does not die out.”
Farid said that the bedouins were hard bargainers, preferring to deal in cash and gold. “They have become much smarter now. Ever since Saudi Arabia celebrated its centennial, the bedouins have learnt the value of old traditional things. Now many Saudis are very interested in their old traditions and culture. When we first opened our store in 1990, Saudis were less than 10 percent of our customers; now they represent almost 40 percent.”
In his search for interesting items, Farid has had some interesting experiences. “The problem is that the bedouin move around so much. You never know where to find them. At the beginning, I did not have a four-wheel drive vehicle so I went around in my car or in rented cars. I might fly to Al-Qassim and then rent a car and drive around looking for bedouin. Sometimes it was fruitful but more often it was an exercise in futility.”
He remembered an incident in Al-Qassim when he was looking for old wooden doors. At one point, his guide told him to make a right turn. “I did and it was frightening. There was no road, just a track in the desert. I was in an ordinary car and was reluctant to continue. What if we sank in the sand? But I drove and soon I came to a beautiful oasis. There was a house there which belonged to a bedouin. He was very hospitable and gave us coffee, grinding the beans in an old mortar and pestle. Later, he offered to show us some old things. He opened a door and all I could see was grass and sheep. And then an incredible thing happened! The old man blew very hard and the sand and dust moved to reveal doors. Forty of them, old and beautiful!”
Farid said that some old things are now almost impossible to find. Doors and windows are two examples. “Nobody makes them anymore. I know only two old men who still make them. They are both over 80 and one is almost deaf but he enjoys working although it takes him two months to make a small window.”
Farid is particularly enthusiastic about the work done in and around Unaizah in Al-Qassim. “Everything from there is pure Saudi. This area was untouched by foreign influences unlike the Hijaz where there was a number of foreigners and a lot of Egyptian and Syrian influence in arts and crafts.”
I asked Farid what his favorite article was. “I have several. One is a beautiful muzzle loader with silver, agate and coral, inlaid with bone. I also love weavings and I have a 200-year-old camel bag and an original face mask which is impossible to find nowadays.”
Farid explained that he was in the business out of love for his country, its heritage and its culture. He admitted that it was hard work searching for old things but he emphasized, “It is worth every bit of trouble; I believe if you lose your heritage, you lose everything.”