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Jordan's Royal Wedding
Jordan's Royal Wedding

A tale for the ages: Looking back at the royal wedding of Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

A tale for the ages: Looking back at the royal wedding of Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
The couple’s wedding was held on June 10, 1993, in Amman. (Getty Images)
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Updated 31 May 2023
Arab News
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A tale for the ages: Looking back at the royal wedding of Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

A tale for the ages: Looking back at the royal wedding of Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
Updated 31 May 2023
Arab News
Follow

DUBAI: It is the year of fairytale weddings for the Jordanian royal family with Princess Iman tying the knot earlier in March and the much-awaited nuptials of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II and Saudi national Rajwa Al-Saif on June 1. 

However, 30 years ago, another couple set the stage for royal romance with a wedding and ensuing partnership that captured the hearts of millions around the world — the current King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. 




The couple’s wedding was held on June 10, 1993, in Amman. (Getty Images)

When the couple first met at a dinner party in late 1992, he was not yet the declared heir to the throne, and Rania Al-Yassin, who was then 22, was a young executive-in-training from a Palestinian medical family and had just moved to Jordan from Kuwait. 

“The minute Rania walked in, I knew it right then and there,” King Abdullah said of their first meeting to People magazine in 2005. “It was love at first sight.” 

“He had such a great smile and such infectious energy, we got on really well. And the rest, as they say, is history,” Queen Rania told Stellar magazine in 2016 of their first meeting. 

Six months later, after a whirlwind courtship and a three-month engagement, they were married in a lavish ceremony on June 10, 1993, at Zahran Palace in Amman, where Crown Prince Hussein and Al-Saif are also set to host their religious wedding ceremony. 




For the ceremony, the bride wore a custom gold-embroidered gown by British designer Bruce Oldfield. (Getty Images)

For the ceremony, the bride wore a custom gold-embroidered gown by British designer Bruce Oldfield with a matching silk hairpiece and veil. The groom wore his military uniform. 

The wedding also made headlines around the world when then-Princess Rania broke tradition by not wearing a tiara, choosing to honor her non-royal Palestinian roots. 

After the ceremony, the couple took part in a royal convoy in a vintage 1961 Lincoln convertible that took them through the streets of Amman.




After the ceremony, the couple took part in a royal convoy in a vintage 1961 Lincoln convertible. (Getty Images)

For their reception in the gardens of Raghadan Palace, the bride changed into a second outfit by the iconic fashion designer, this time a sleeveless white gown with gold detailing. The multi-tiered wedding cake, which the newlyweds cut with a sword as is custom, featured tiers decorated with crowns and lace. 

Topics: Jordan's Royal Wedding

Saudi Netflix drama-comedy ‘Crashing Eid’ tackles romantic taboos with heart

Saudi Netflix drama-comedy ‘Crashing Eid’ tackles romantic taboos with heart
Updated 18 min 14 sec ago
William Mullally
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Saudi Netflix drama-comedy ‘Crashing Eid’ tackles romantic taboos with heart

Saudi Netflix drama-comedy ‘Crashing Eid’ tackles romantic taboos with heart
Updated 18 min 14 sec ago
William Mullally

DUBAI: Following hot on the heels of Netflix’s first Saudi original comedy series “Tahir’s House,” the global streamer has just announced another Jeddah-set original series that is tailor-made to get the Kingdom talking.

Created by Saudi filmmaker Nora Aboushousha (“Lucky You Are Mine”), “Crashing Eid” is family drama-comedy that tackles societal romantic taboos with both an irreverent spirit and a warm heart, set to debut worldwide on Oct. 19.

The show follows Razan (Summer Shesha), a Saudi woman living in the UK with her teenage daughter who plans to marry a British-Pakistani man under the assumption that her family will approve the pairing without question. When she returns home during Ramadan, with her fiancé following soon after as an uninvited guest, she soon finds that breaking with tradition may be harder than she had originally thought — to both hilarious and dramatic results.

Aboushousha, herself from Jeddah, is a rising star in the Kingdom, with her one-location lockdown crime series “Rahin Altaqiq” and drama comedy about rebellious young Saudi woman “Confessions” both becoming viral hits over the last few years. She is also no stranger to pushing boundaries, with her short “Lucky You Are Mine” winning a production grant by the Saudi Film Commission before debuting at the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival in her hometown to strong acclaim.

“We started off with a concept of someone who is different from their family, and that grew into this story of a single mother who returns from abroad. We started wondering, what will inspire the clash with the rest of the family? And immediately we realized, ‘oh, she should come back ready to be married to someone from outside the culture!’ Everything fell into place from there,” Aboushousha told Arab News.

For Shesha, who steps into her first major lead role as Razan, the project inspired her not only because of the ways that the conceit allows each member of the family to flourish as they grapple with the events it sets into motion, but because the themes are so easy to relate to for so many people across the world.

“First of all, this show is awesome. I really think it is. That drew me to it to begin with. But it also mattered to me that this is on Netflix worldwide. This is a show with global themes of family, conflict and love. I really wanted a show that both felt specific and universal and this show has really captures that,” Shesha told Arab News.

Topics: Netflix Crashing Eid

Review: ‘Fingernails’ – Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed star in Apple TV+’s anti-climactic sci-fi romance 

Review: ‘Fingernails’ – Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed star in Apple TV+’s anti-climactic sci-fi romance 
Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
Kadija Osman
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Review: ‘Fingernails’ – Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed star in Apple TV+’s anti-climactic sci-fi romance 

Review: ‘Fingernails’ – Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed star in Apple TV+’s anti-climactic sci-fi romance 
Updated 1 min 5 sec ago
Kadija Osman

TORONTO: What if there was a test that could determine for certain that you and your partner are in love? Set in a near-distant future, Greek director’s Christos Nikou’s English debut “Fingernails” toys with that idea but the end result falls flat.

The sci-fi sees Anna (Jessie Buckley) on a job hunt after the school she worked for closes down. She lands a position at the love institute run by Duncan (Luke Wilson). This is an establishment that dedicates all its efforts to testing couples on whether they are truly in love with each other. Anna and her partner Ryan (Jeremy Allen White) received a positive test early into their relationship and have settled into a predictable routine at home that no longer excites Anna. Enter, Amir (Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed), Anna’s charming co-worker who helps her find her feet as they start running tests with clients and ultimately collect their fingernails for the final result. As weeks go on and despite Anna’s 100% test with her partner, Amir and Anna fall for each other which contradicts their entire career.

Buckley and Ahmed have instant chemistry as coworkers who root for their clients and share the same optimism for love but the real issue lies within the script. Director and writer Christos Nikou had an opportunity to take this “Black Mirror” style idea and turn it into something thrilling with higher stakes and gorier shots, instead it cuts away whenever fingernails are pulled and there’s no consequence for people if they step out of their test-proven matches. 

Aside from a lackluster screenplay, the score and cinematography match the eerie theme at hand and the pressures that our heroine faces with her conflicted feelings. The performances from Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White and Luke Wilson carry the film and do what they can, especially Jessie Buckley who swaps her thick Irish accent for a convincing American one and is luminous throughout the film. 

Though the film Nikou’s message is clear — love is not a science and can’t be manufactured or determined by a machine and while the film is shot on 35mm making it seem better and more artistic than it is, “Fingernails” fails to live up to its full potential.

"Fingernails" played as a part of the Special Presentation program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Topics: tiff Riz Ahmed Fingernails film review

Arab American filmmaker Ruby Malek shines spotlight on Saudi talent  

Arab American filmmaker Ruby Malek shines spotlight on Saudi talent  
Updated 48 min 55 sec ago
Alex Weber
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Arab American filmmaker Ruby Malek shines spotlight on Saudi talent  

Arab American filmmaker Ruby Malek shines spotlight on Saudi talent  
Updated 48 min 55 sec ago
Alex Weber

LOS ANGELES: Arab American filmmaker Ruby Malek is shining a spotlight on Saudi talent in the 10-episode docuseries “Herstory” which follows the journeys of Saudi’s modern-day female music stars.  

“We were just fascinated by the amount of talent because a lot of these artists are self-taught. And, you know, there were no music schools that they went to. There wasn't like a piano teacher that would teach these women,” said Malek to Arab News.  

“A lot of these artists actually didn't show their identity, didn't show their faces, and weren't really out there... We're still talking about 2020 now, so it wasn't like now in 2023.”  

Chronicling these artists' struggles, triumphs and their place in the cultural history of the Kingdom, the series blends the passion for music-infused storytelling Ruby honed making music videos and her skills as a documentarian.  

“I'm the generation that grew up watching MTV, VH1, so I was very into the various reality shows, and that's what I kind of fell into. I fell into creating reality shows and formats, and so went from music videos to reality shows, documentaries. And then one thing led to another,” said Malek.  

Motivated by the positive changes of Saudi Vision 2030, Malek sought to showcase a side of Saudi Arabia that she had not seen in the West. With the series having opened doors for the creator, she’s excited to continue working in the Kingdom.  

“I actually have been back to Saudi. I shot a show for Vice, and yes, I would definitely (work there again). I mean, as a producer, there's so much potential and there's so many stories to be told that I think I will be going there more often and very soon,” she said.  

Topics: Ruby Malek Herstory Saudi musicians

Review: Wes Anderson returns to Roald Dahl with ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’

Review: Wes Anderson returns to Roald Dahl with ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’
Updated 28 September 2023
Matt Ross
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Review: Wes Anderson returns to Roald Dahl with ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’

Review: Wes Anderson returns to Roald Dahl with ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’
Updated 28 September 2023
Matt Ross

LONDON: Given the critical success of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” in 2009, it is something of a surprise that it has taken so many years for Wes Anderson to return to the works of Roald Dahl.

Now, lo and behold, four adaptations have come along at once, with a quartet of Anderson-directed short films for Netflix — also including “The Swan,” “The Rat Catcher” and “Poison” — released at daily intervals this week.

Anderson has assembled an fine troupe of actors, many of whom appear across the four stories, and first turns his inimitable, behind-the-curtain style to “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”

As perhaps only Anderson could, the director leans into the multi-layered storytelling, including a narrator (Dahl himself, played by Ralph Fiennes) and a procession of deadpan, to-camera monologues from his cast, which includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Rupert Friend and Richard Ayoade.

Bored, greedy bachelor Henry Sugar (Cumberbatch) stumbles across the story of Imdad Khan (Kingsley), a circus performer who taught himself to see with his eyes closed. Sniffing an opportunity for limitless profit, Sugar tries to develop the same power so that he can make a killing in the world’s casinos.

Because it is a Wes Anderson film, the audience is invited to share in every aspect of the storytelling — whether it is the actors taking on multiple roles, the visible stagehands, the off-screen noises or the occasional glimpses beyond the sets, there is a decidedly theater-like aesthetic at play.

For Anderson, the telling of the story is, in fact, part of that story — and the relationship between author, narrator, actors and audience shifts and pirouettes throughout the 39 minutes.

“Henry Sugar” is one of Dahl’s more upbeat tales, removed from the naivety of the writer’s children’s stories and perhaps lacking some of the more macabre leanings of his adult work.

The cast certainly commits, all throwing themselves into the straightlaced performances. Although it makes for an odd experience — all lavish worldbuilding juxtaposed with starkly functional acting — it somehow works.

Much like Dahl himself, there is an eccentricity about Anderson’s style that makes his films captivating, and the prospect of more work to come an intriguing one.

Topics: Netflix Wes Anderson

Pakistani biryani: a spicy recipe for delectable debate

Pakistani biryani: a spicy recipe for delectable debate
Updated 28 September 2023
AFP
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Pakistani biryani: a spicy recipe for delectable debate

Pakistani biryani: a spicy recipe for delectable debate
  • Every Karachi neighborhood has its own canteens fronted by vendors clanking a spatula against inside of biryani pots
  • Biryani with beef is a favorite across Pakistan, while vegetarian variants are more popular in largely Hindu India
Updated 28 September 2023
AFP

KARACHI: Eying each other across a stream of traffic, rival Pakistani biryani joints vie for customers, serving a fiery medley of meat, rice, and spice that unites and divides South Asian appetites.
Both sell a niche version of the dish, steeped in the same vats, with matching prices and trophies commending their quality.
But in Karachi, where a biryani craze boomed after the creation of Pakistan, it is the subtle differences that inspire devotion.
“Our biryani is not only different from theirs but unique in the world,” says restaurateur Muhammad Saqib, who layers his “bone marrow biryani” with herbs.
“When a person bites into it he drowns in a world of flavors,” the 36-year-old says.

In this photograph taken on September 16, 2023, people eat biryani at a restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)

Across the road, Muhammad Zain sees it differently.
“We were the ones who started the biryani business here first,” the 27-year-old claims, as staff scoop out sharing platters with a gut-punch of masala.
“It’s our own personal and secret recipe.”
Both agree on one thing.
“You can’t find biryani like Pakistan’s anywhere in the world,” says Saqib.
“Whether it’s a celebration or any other occasion, biryani always comes first,” according to Zain.

In this photograph taken on September 16, 2023, a staff serves plates of biryani at a restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)

British colonial rule in South Asia ended in 1947 with a violent rupture of the region along religious lines.
Hindus and Sikhs in newly created Pakistan fled to India while Muslim “MoHajjirs” — refugees — went the other way.
India and Pakistan have been arch-rivals since, fighting wars and locked in endless diplomatic strife. Trade and travel have been largely choked off.
Many MoHajjirs settled in Karachi, home to just 400,000 people in 1947 but one of the world’s largest cities today with a population of 20 million.
For Indian food historian Pushpesh Pant, biryani served in South Asia’s melting-pot cities such as Karachi is a reminder of shared heritage.

In this photograph taken on September 16, 2023, people eat biryani at a restaurant in Karachi. (AFP)

“Hindus ate differently, Nanakpanthis (Sikhs) ate differently, and Muslims ate differently, but it was not as if their food did not influence each other,” he told AFP from the city of Gurugram outside Delhi.
“In certain parts of Pakistan and certain parts of India, the differences in flavors and foods are not as great as man-made borders would make us think.”
Every Karachi neighborhood has its own canteens fronted by vendors clanking a spatula against the inside of biryani pots.
The recipe has endless variations.
The one with beef is a favorite in Pakistan, while vegetarian variants are more popular in largely India.
Chicken is universal. Along coastlines, seafood is in the mix.
And purists debate if adding potatoes is heresy.
“Other than that, there is Pulao Biryani which is purely from Delhi,” says 27-year-old pharmacist Muhammad Al Aaqib, describing a broth-stewed variation.
“My roots lead back to Delhi too so it’s like the mother of biryanis for us.”
“Perhaps every person has a different way of cooking it, and their way is better,” says 36-year-old landlord Mehran Khoso.
The origins of biryani are hotly contested.
However, it is generally accepted the word has Persian roots and it is argued the dish was popularised in the elite kitchens of the Mughal Empire, which spanned South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.
In spite of that pedigree, its defining quality is permutation.

In this photograph taken on September 17, 2023, Quratul ain Asad (L), a homemaker serves biryani for her family members at her house in Karachi. (AFP)

Quratul Ain Asad, 40, spends Sunday morning cooking for her husband and son, MoHajjir descendants of a family that arrived in Karachi from the Indian town of Tonk in 1948.
But at the dinner table, they feast not on an heirloom recipe but a TV chef’s version with a cooling yogurt sauce and a simple shredded salad.
Asad insists on Karachi’s biryani supremacy.
“You will not like biryani from anywhere else once you’ve tasted Karachi’s biryani,” she says.
“There is no secret ingredient. I just cook with a lot of passion and joy,” she adds. “Perhaps that’s why the taste comes out good.”
Cooked in bulk, biryani is also a staple of charity donations.
At Ghazi Foods, 28-year-old Ali Nawaz paddles out dozens of portions of biryani into plastic pouches, which are delivered to poor neighborhoods on motorbikes.
A minute after one of those bikes stops, the biryani is gone, seized by kids and young adults.
“People pray for us when they eat it,” says Nawaz. “It feels good that our biryani reaches the people.”
 

Topics: Biryani Pakistani food Karachi biryani

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