Winning cup: 20 Saudi students complete 3-month coffee training program

Winning cup: 20 Saudi students complete 3-month coffee training program
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More and more Saudis are taking up jobs in the Kingdom's growing coffee industry. (AN file photo)
More and more Saudis are taking up jobs in the Kingdom's growing coffee industry. (AN file photo)
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Updated 12 January 2023

Winning cup: 20 Saudi students complete 3-month coffee training program

Winning cup: 20 Saudi students complete 3-month coffee training program
  • The program trains Saudi youth in the techniques required to work in the coffee industry, focusing on interpersonal skills, coffee preparation, customer service and entrepreneurship

JEDDAH: Twenty Saudi students can look forward to a future in the fast-growing coffee industry after celebrating their graduation on Wednesday from the pilot phase of a specialist  training scheme.  

The three-month Coffee Preparation Program was organized by Community Jameel Saudi and Bab Rizq Jameel in partnership with the Arabian Coffee Institute. 

The program trains Saudi youth in the techniques required to work in the coffee industry, focusing on interpersonal skills, coffee preparation, customer service and entrepreneurship.

Graduates received a certificate accredited by the Arabian Coffee Institute and will have the opportunity to secure jobs with Al-Ezdhar & Al-Rafah Trading Ltd, steered by Bab Rizq Jameel Recruitment.

Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar, general manager of Entrepreneurship and Social Initiatives at Community Jameel Saudi, said: “Our strategy is to achieve social economic and environmental prosperity while contributing to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

“This partnership with the Arabian Coffee Institute encouraged us to deliver training programs that will equip young men and women with the skills necessary to succeed in this sector, enabling them to work in hotels, restaurants and cafes throughout the Kingdom.”

The program will welcome 20 new participants in its second edition this month. 

Al-Muhannad Al-Marwai, executive director of the Arabian Coffee Institute, said: “We have a team of experts, researchers and more than 13 certified trainers who provide accredited training courses in the fields of coffee cultivation, processing, roasting, grinding and distillation, as well as sensory and barista skills.”

One of the graduates, Aseel Zaki Anbul, said that he is confident of excelling in the job market, and described the program as a golden opportunity to learn and develop his abilities.

“I am very pleased with the diversity of topics and skills covered in the training program. I look forward to providing customers with an enjoyable coffee experience,” he said.

Under the umbrella of the Year of Saudi Coffee initiative, the program is supported by the Culinary Arts Commission at the Ministry of Culture, which focuses on developing and celebrating the coffee sector in Saudi Arabia, and exporting its products as an essential component of Saudi culture.


King Salman issues royal order promoting, appointing 257 judges

King Salman issues royal order promoting, appointing 257 judges
Updated 10 sec ago

King Salman issues royal order promoting, appointing 257 judges

King Salman issues royal order promoting, appointing 257 judges

RIYADH: King Salman issued on Monday a royal order to promote and appoint 257 judges at the Ministry of Justice at various ranks, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Sheikh Dr. Walid bin Mohammed Al-Samaani, said the Royal order comes as an extension of the continuous support of the king to the judiciary.

Earlier this month, Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Yousef, head of Saudi Arabia’s Board of Grievances and chairman of the Saudi Administrative Judicial Council, noted the tangible development and rapid modernization of the judiciary during the era of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 


Soothing and soulful voices in Grand Mosque anticipated worldwide every Ramadan

Soothing and soulful voices in Grand Mosque anticipated worldwide every Ramadan
Updated 7 min 39 sec ago

Soothing and soulful voices in Grand Mosque anticipated worldwide every Ramadan

Soothing and soulful voices in Grand Mosque anticipated worldwide every Ramadan
  • Prayers and calls have reverberated through the centuries in Makkah
  • Bilal bin Rabah made the first adhan from Kaaba rooftop in 630 (8 A.H.)

MAKKAH: They have been reverberating through the Grand Mosque in Makkah for centuries — the soulful and soothing voices of muezzins calling the believers, and imams leading prayers five times a day.

Dr. Mansour Al-Dajani, a researcher on the history of Makkah, told Arab News recently that the first call to prayer, at noon in the Grand Mosque, was delivered from the roof of the holy Kaaba by Prophet Muhammad’s companion Bilal bin Rabah. This was on the order of the prophet on the day of the conquest of Makkah in the year 630 (8 A.H.).

“The Grand Mosque was as large as the Mataf (area of circumambulation around Makkah’s Kaaba) at that time and had no wall surrounding it, nor a minaret. Minarets appeared for the first time in the year 754 (137 A.H.) during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Abu Jafar Al-Mansour, who built the first minaret, known as Bab Al-Umrah, in the western corner from the northern side of the Grand Mosque.”

The minaret was a tall tower attached or adjacent to the mosque. It was an integral part of the mosque and designed so the call to prayer could be heard loud and clear throughout the city.

He explained: “This minaret and the ones that were built after it were used to recite the call to prayer in the Grand Mosque. The chief muezzin would start the call to prayer from the minaret of Bab Al-Umrah, then all the muezzins would follow him on the other minarets. After that, the Bab Al-Salam minaret became the chief muezzin’s platform for the call to prayer, and in the 16th century (10th century A.H.), the chief muezzin used the dome of Zamzam to deliver the call to prayer.”

Loudspeakers in the Grand Mosque were introduced for the first time in 1947 during the reign of King Abdulaziz.

The late Makkan historian and writer Prof. Ahmed Ali Asad Allah Al-Kazemi stated in his memoirs “The Daily Events in Makkah” that in 1947 Sheikh Abd Al-Zahir Abu Al-Samh, the imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque, asked Minister of Finance Abdullah bin Suleiman Al-Hamdan to provide loudspeakers and a microphone.

He wrote that in that year the speakers in the Grand Mosque were used for the Friday and Eid sermons, which fell on the same day. The sermon was usually delivered by Sheikh Abu Al-Samh’s son, Abdul Rahman, with only a few worshippers in the mosque able to hear. However, on Friday Oct. 31, 1947, Sheikh Abu Al-Samh delivered the Friday sermon with a microphone heard by thousands of worshippers in the Grand Mosque.

In 1957, the speaker’s location was changed when the first expansion of the Mataf in the Grand Mosque took place. In 1963, the speakers were placed in a separate, private building, called Almukbariya, from which the call to prayer is performed, and where the muezzin chants or repeats in response to the imam’s prayers.

Recently further changes were made in the Almukbariya building by the Projects and Engineering Studies Agency at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, to ensure operational efficiency for Ramadan 2023.

Eng. Mohammed Al-Waqdani, undersecretary of the agency, said the Almukbariya in its new form took into account the architectural changes in the Grand Mosque in terms of color and style.

It allows for greater sound clarity, to amplify the voices of the muezzins. There are also sound and television control rooms and studios, special waiting offices for muezzins and alternates, and rooms for public services. The Mataf and Kaaba can be seen from the southern part of the Almukbariya.

Al-Waqdani added that the Almukbariya plays an important role, in coordination with the Radio and Television Authority, in the live broadcast of  “of all rituals and religious events that are held in the Grand Mosque throughout the year, especially during the blessed Ramadan and Hajj season.”


Environmental volunteering initiative to launch in Qassim

Environmental volunteering initiative to launch in Qassim
Updated 27 March 2023

Environmental volunteering initiative to launch in Qassim

Environmental volunteering initiative to launch in Qassim
  • MoU signed to improve vegetation in national parks and Qassim University facilities

RIYADH: Qassim’s Gov. Prince Faisal bin Mishaal witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between Qassim University, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification to implement the One Million Environmental Volunteer Hours initiative over three years.

Setting a target of volunteer hours at Qassim University, the MoU aims to improve vegetation in national parks and campus facilities,  promote seeding, educational and cleaning campaigns, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Faisal praised the objectives of the initiative, which help to promote environmental preservation and increase the proportion of vegetation in the region. He added that the partnership is in line with the goals of Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green initiative.

 


Ramadan meet, greet initiative launched for Makkah pilgrims, umrah visitors

Ramadan meet, greet initiative launched for Makkah pilgrims, umrah visitors
Updated 27 March 2023

Ramadan meet, greet initiative launched for Makkah pilgrims, umrah visitors

Ramadan meet, greet initiative launched for Makkah pilgrims, umrah visitors
  • Greeting points will be set up at Haramain train station and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah
  • Nada Al-Malki: The pilgrims are warmly welcomed, and a set of gifts are presented to help them perform their rituals with ease

RIYADH: The Grand Mosque in Makkah has launched a welcome initiative for pilgrims and umrah visitors arriving in Saudi Arabia.

The scheme has been initiated by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques represented by its media affairs, public relations, and women’s exhibitions agency.

Greeting points will be set up at Haramain train station and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Agency official Nada Al-Malki said: “The pilgrims are warmly welcomed at the designated train station, and a set of gifts are presented to help them perform their rituals with ease.”

The initiative was started last year at the railway station with senior management greeting pilgrims and distributing information on digital services, and gift packages including a prayer rug, umbrella, and Zamzam water.

On Sunday, the presidency, represented by the agency responsible for libraries and cultural affairs, launched its Ramadan program in the Grand Mosque library which will include scientific and cultural meetings and seminars.

The first evening session looked at various aspects of the life of the Prophet Muhammad.


Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan
Updated 27 March 2023

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan

Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Ramadan

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, have agreed to meet during the month of Ramadan, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Monday.

The diplomats also discussed in a phone call a number of issues amid the trilateral agreement signed in China.

The Kingdom and Iran agreed on March 10 to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies within two months following years of tensions.

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