Hamza Yamani owns a small stall in Jeddah’s downtown Balad. He said he has bought small badges with pictures of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on them that he is now selling on for SR2 and SR5. “I’ve bought over 840 badges and a similar number of flags to sell in Balad in the runup to Saudi National Day,” said Yamani.
Major high street stores are also selling white and green memorabilia for National Day. Abdul Basit, a salesman at one store, said it is common for schools to come and buy items in bulk a month before National Day. “We’ve got branches in Riyadh and the Eastern Province.
Abayas with green Saudi designs are also on offer this year.
One Indian salesman at an abaya store at the Mujamma Al-Sharq Market has on sale abayas with the Saudi flag on the rear for SR280. “This is new. Last year we had abayas decorated with the red and white Saudi shumags (head cover) that are worn by Saudi men,” he said.
Young men tend to buy green T-shirts, mostly the ones worn by the national Saudi football team. Others, however, buy simple plain shirts and then write on them slogans such as “I love KSA.”
Many, however, find it more convenient to fashion their cars with a Saudi theme. Car shops across the Kingdom are currently busy decorating cars in green.
“It costs from SR1,000 to SR2,000. Some simply ask for a bit of writing on their cars. Others ask for their cars to be colored green with a few white touches. Some people bring their own stuff and ask for a bit of handwork,” said Ahmad, a car shop worker.
