‘Janadriyah village, a huge museum of Saudi heritage’

Princess Hessa Al-Shaalan, wife of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, visited the pavilion of the Ministry of Education in the Janadriyah festival on Saturday evening.
Princess Hessa expressed her pleasure over visiting the pavilion and the prodigious improvement being achieved by the education sector in the Kingdom.
The Princess toured the pavilion and watched women's workshops representing a number of regions, a women's theater, a kindergarten wing, and King Abdullah Project for Education Development.
Deputy Minister of Education for Girls Education Noura Al-Fayez, and a number of women's officials of the Ministry of Education received the Princess at the Education Ministry Pavilion.
The 28th National Festival for Heritage and Culture in Al-Janadriyah showcases the ethos and traditions of Saudi Arabia including musical and dance performances, handicrafts, exhibitions of artifacts and lectures, training sessions, plays and awareness campaigns.
The Janadriyah festival takes place every year at the Janadriyah Village in Diriyah, Riyadh and draws over five million visitors, aiming to enforce a sense of religious, national and social unity.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rachel Miller a British doctor visiting the heritage and culture festival said she and many other foreigners were deeply impressed by the richness of cultural diversity in the Kingdom. “The ancient mud houses are wonderful and folk dances are enchanting while traditional dishes are exotic,” she said. She particularly liked the kleja biscuit she found at the Qassim pavilion.
Dr. Miller was accompanied by several of her colleagues. They all carried some handicrafts and works of art they bought from various pavilions.
“The Janadriyah village could be rightly called a huge museum because it collects all kinds of Saudi heritage works belonging to various times and regions at a single place,” Dr. Jim and Julien said, adding that they were especially impressed by the extraordinary skills of Saudi artisans who make exquisite works of art with thread, wood, colors, clay, gold or silver.
Karen from Canada and Katherine from the United States said what really attracted them was the hospitality and generosity of the Saudi people.
“We hear a lot about the Saudi arts. But we have been amazed by the variety of their dress, food, and also customs worn on occasions such as wedding and birth celebrations,” Katherine said while she was returning from the festival ground on Saturday.
New Zealander Betty said she noticed the difference in even the styles of children’s dress in different regions in the Kingdom.