JEDDAH, 7 December 2002 — The Kingdom filled the second day of Eid celebrations with a plethora of popular entertainment. Firework displays, folklore shows and music concerts all attracted massive crowds.
In Riyadh, on the first night of Eid, a massive firework display firing more than 7,000 different salvos into the night sky, filled 15 minutes with a continuous flood of light, fire and thunder. Launched from four different locations around the city, the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Malaz, the popular village in Areeja, Prince Sultan Private College and King Fahd International Stadium, the display could be seen over an area of scores of square kilometers.
Midhyan Abdul Rahman Al-Midhyan of Riyadh Municipality told Arab News that the fireworks display would be repeated at the same places at 9 tonight.
Fireworks — which are one of the main attractions of Eid festivities in Jeddah, Madinah, Dammam, Abha, Taif and other parts of the Kingdom — brought in the usual large crowds.
In Jeddah, Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed opened the festivities, and enjoyed an operetta by famous singers Abbadi Al-Jowhar and Abdullah Rashad.
In the evening the city residents went out visiting relatives and friends while many headed for the Corniche along the Red Sea, the city’s main recreational center.
Here, the firework display rivaled Riyadh, with a display that illuminated land and sea. Packed crowds cheered as crackling stars and deafening mortars split the sky. The display could be seen from all over the city.
During the second day, displays of parachute jumping, an air show of remote-controlled planes filled the day with an attractive mix of diversions. Recreational centers and tourist resorts are presenting special programs for their clients, especially children.
Speaking to reporters after the inaugural ceremony, Prince Abdul Majeed said Eid festivities in Jeddah would continue for nine days with a variety of programs. He also introduced the government’s plan to implement new development and tourist projects in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif.
Some estimates put the number of people visiting Jeddah from other parts of the Kingdom and abroad during the religious season at more than half a million. Many come through the King Abdul Aziz Airport, Jeddah’s main gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. The airport handles some two million pilgrims every year.
Most countries in the Middle East celebrated the annual feast with the Kingdom on Thursday when the Eid began yesterday in some parts of the Muslim world.
Hundreds of thousands of worshipers attended Eid prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Thursday and many visitors stayed on for Juma prayers yesterday.
The residents of the House for the Care of Elderly in Riyadh held a number of activities to mark Eid.
A 70-year-old told Al-Watan newspaper that he was extremely happy over the advent of Eid Al-Fitr and hoped that it would bring peace and prosperity for the Islamic Ummah.
Khaled Al-Dossary, supervisor of the house, said his center organizes pleasure trips for the elderly to the Eastern Province and Jeddah as well as to parks and recreation centers in the city.
The prisons department in the Eastern Province has planned three days of festivities and recreational programs for the prisoners.
Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Rowaisan, acting director of Dammam Central Jail, told Al-Watan that the prisoners would be allowed to meet friends and relatives in the morning and evening hours during the first three days of Eid.
