Saudi Theater Commission Praises Third Qemam International Festival for Mountain Performance Arts

CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Commission Sultan Al-Bazie praised the efforts of participants. SPA
CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Commission Sultan Al-Bazie praised the efforts of participants. SPA
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Saudi Theater Commission Praises Third Qemam International Festival for Mountain Performance Arts

CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Commission Sultan Al-Bazie praised the efforts of participants. SPA
CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Commission Sultan Al-Bazie praised the efforts of participants. SPA

Saudi Arabia’s Theater and Performing Arts Commission concluded the activities of the 3rd edition of the Qemam International Festival for Mountain Performance Arts, which were held from January 20 to 27 in eight archaeological sites in the Aseer region.
The festival witnessed numerous activities and events which portray the performance arts in mountainous regions in the Kingdom and the world, and shed light on their history through cultural seminars and enriching workshops to introduce the local community and tourists to the ancient mountain performance arts locally and internationally, and their effect on different cultures.
CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Commission Sultan Al-Bazie praised the efforts of participants from inside and outside the Kingdom in making this important cultural event a success, saying the festival became better this year by allowing its guests to watch shows in several locations.
On the concluding day, a carnival march was held on Prince Sultan Road in Khamis Mushait, with the participation of 20 Saudi bands and 25 international bands, during which they performed 40 forms of mountainous arts while wearing the costumes of each type.
Forty-five Saudi and international performance groups participated in the daily activities of the festival in eight heritage villages.
The festival activities showcased the authentic heritage of local and international mountain performance arts to the local community and tourists, supported creating job opportunities for Saudi local talents from the region, and increased the popularity of Saudi performance arts locally and internationally.
The festival reflected the Theater and Performing Arts Commission's interest to promote international cultural exchange as one of the goals of the national strategy for culture, based on the Saudi Vision 2030.



Egypt Recovers 3 Ancient Artifacts Found in the Netherlands

This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
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Egypt Recovers 3 Ancient Artifacts Found in the Netherlands

This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Egypt recovered three ancient artifacts that were smuggled out of the country and found in the Netherlands, where two of the items were for sale in an antiques shop, Egyptian officials said Tuesday.
The items retrieved include a mummified head from the Hellenistic period, a ceramic funerary figurine dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom era (664-332 B.C.), and part of a wooden tomb bearing an inscription of the goddess Isis from 663-504 B.C., the Egyptian embassy in The Hague said in a statement. The head was found in good condition, showing remnants of teeth and hair, The Associated Press reported.
Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspection unit retrieved the figurines and parts of the tomb after determining that they were smuggled out of Egypt. A Dutch individual handed over the mummified head, which he had inherited from a family member, to local authorities.
The three artifacts are believed to have been stolen and smuggled after they were discovered through illegal excavation, according to Egyptian authorities. No details were provided about when those items were believed to have been unearthed and smuggled.
Repatriation from the Netherlands is part of Egypt’s wider push to stop trafficking of stolen antiquities. More than 30,000 artifacts have been recovered since 2014.
Last year, an ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after US authorities determined it was smuggled years ago.