The pavilion, called Bayt Makkah Al-Mukarramah, adds a spiritual dimension to the cultural and heritage atmosphere of the festival.
Apart from religious symbols of Islam, the pavilion showcases old models of motor cars, most of them at least 50 years old. Another major attraction of the Makkah pavilion is the display of one of the largest misbahas (rosary) in the world.
The pavilion also displays old and new photographs and replicas of the Grand Mosque and the holy sites. It also gives a pictorial presentation of the latest developmental projects implemented by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Makkah, Mina, Jamarat and Arafat.
Its folk arts section provides a taste of the old cultural activities of Makkah including “Mizmar” and “Majas” dances.
The pavilion is designed in the old Hijazi architectural style with plenty of intricate wood work, skylights and chandeliers, jalousies and cisterns. Interior decoration is also in the old Arabian style particular to Makkah. A visitor can also inspect seating arrangements with divans and majlis.
At one part of the pavilion many workers are busy in handicraft works such as carpentry, gold and silver works, pottery making, leather works, cobbling, censer making and rose water distillation. Samples of Makkah’s cuisine of the past generation are also available at the pavilion.
Taif, which is famous for its natural beauty and roses, displayed a huge carpet like presentation of roses at the entrance to the Bayt Al-Taif, which is part of the Makkah pavilion. The item prepared by the Taif municipality is made of 6,000 roses of different colors.
Supervisor of the Makkah Pavilion Abdul Rahman Muminah said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal is keen on the pavilion representing the glorious heritage of the Makkah region so that the new generation gets an insight into the proud past of the region. He said the prince had made financial allocations well in advance to make elaborate preparations for the festival.
A visitor to the Qassim pavilion, Khaled Al-Harbi, said he came from Canada where he is studying computer engineering to visit Janadriyah. He believed the national festival provided a rare experience by merging the heritage of all regions in the Kingdom. He said his teachers and fellow students demanded him to take back with him mementos that portray different aspects of Saudi culture.
Chief of the Saudi bureau of official Chinese news agency Xinhua, Wang Bo, said he was attending Janadriyah for the second time as he was fascinated by the festival when he visited it last year.
“I am deeply fascinated by the variety of folk arts of Saudi Arabia. A visit to the festival ground gives a visitor like me the occasion to view and enjoy different art forms of all Saudi towns at one place,” he said.
