Cultural Events Celebrate Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day

The events recall the story of the Kingdom's founding by Imam Mohammed bin Saud in 1727. (Saudi Ministry of Culture)
The events recall the story of the Kingdom's founding by Imam Mohammed bin Saud in 1727. (Saudi Ministry of Culture)
TT

Cultural Events Celebrate Saudi Arabia’s Founding Day

The events recall the story of the Kingdom's founding by Imam Mohammed bin Saud in 1727. (Saudi Ministry of Culture)
The events recall the story of the Kingdom's founding by Imam Mohammed bin Saud in 1727. (Saudi Ministry of Culture)

The Saudi Ministry of Culture inaugurated on Thursday several events to commemorate the Kingdom's Founding Day, including music concerts that celebrate Saudi Arabia and the early days of its founding.

The events recall the story of the Kingdom's founding by Imam Mohammed bin Saud in 1727 and the heroics that helped build a stable and prosperous country on unified political foundations.

"Founding Nights", which concludes on Friday, features music and poetry that transport the audience on a journey through time to celebrate the Kingdom’s history. It brings together several poets and artists, who will sing popular songs that have resonated with the people for years.

The event was kicked off by artists Fuad Abelwahed and Abdullah al-Mana, who sang a number of national songs. The event also featured poetry readings by Saeed bin Mane and Fahad al-Shahrani.

The second night featured concerts by Majid al-Muhandis and Dalia Mubarak, who sang national songs that captivated the audience. It also included more poetry readings, featuring Suleiman al-Maneh and Abdullah Abyan.

The Ministry of Culture also opened an exhibit, "Path of History", that features several scenes and sculptures that reflect the values embodied in the founding.

The exhibit features 19 "scenes" that highlight significant events that have taken place since the founding in 1727 and until this day.

The Ministry is also organizing a musical concert, "The Symphony of the Beginning", which will be held on Sunday and Monday.

An orchestra will escort the audience on a journey through time to recount how Saudi Arabia was founded. Several celebrated Saudi poets and composers will take part in the event.



Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

"It's an honor for me," Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

He said a mechanized press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. "There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue."

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

"Above all, it’s a passion - trying to create something that fulfils you," he said.