عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Culture

Saudi Royal Institute of Traditional Arts Welcomes Pilgrims with Gifts

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts distributed special gifts to pilgrims. SPA
The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts distributed special gifts to pilgrims. SPA
TT
TT

Saudi Royal Institute of Traditional Arts Welcomes Pilgrims with Gifts

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts distributed special gifts to pilgrims. SPA
The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts distributed special gifts to pilgrims. SPA

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts has played a key role in this year's Hajj season, continuing its mission to promote Saudi Arabia's rich artistic heritage, in line with the Kingdom's commitment to serving pilgrims, The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.

The institute distributed special gifts to pilgrims, prayer rugs adorned with traditional Saudi artistic engravings from across the Kingdom, including those found on Najdi doors, Rawashin, Sadu textiles, and Al-Qatt Al-Asiri decorations, which are testimony to the remarkable depth of Saudi culture and highlight the unique character of Saudi art forms, SPA said.

Each prayer rug comes with a tri-lingual welcome card (Arabic, English, and Urdu) – a thoughtful effort by the institute to introduce pilgrims to Saudi culture and its treasured traditional arts, the news agency added.

Most Viewed

 
 
Culture

India's Modi Leads Yoga Day Celebration in Muslim-majority Kashmir

While yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy and many residents of Kashmir are indifferent it. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP
While yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy and many residents of Kashmir are indifferent it. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP
TT
TT

India's Modi Leads Yoga Day Celebration in Muslim-majority Kashmir

While yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy and many residents of Kashmir are indifferent it. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP
While yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy and many residents of Kashmir are indifferent it. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP

Stretching, arching his back and kneeling on a mat, India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi led hundreds of people performing yoga in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir on Friday.
The exercises in Srinagar, capital of the Indian-administered part of the disputed territory, marked the 10th international yoga day, Modi's own brainchild, AFP said.
But while yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy and many residents of Kashmir are indifferent to the discipline.
Thousands of government employees, schoolteachers and students from all over Kashmir were brought in for the event, although rain forced Modi's performance indoors.
Afterwards, he urged hundreds of people including many police and armed forces personnel on the shores of Dal Lake to make yoga "a part of their daily lives".
"Yoga fosters strength, good health and wellness," he said.
But one Srinagar resident saw the event as a cultural intrusion.
"This yoga is being imposed on our children to culturally change the next generations and control their minds," they told AFP, declining to be identified for fear of reprisal.
"It's an imposition on us."
June 21 was declared International Yoga Day a decade ago and Modi has since led events at emblematic locations across India, and last year at the UN headquarters in New York.