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
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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.



British Museum Explores ‘Silk Roads’ Trade Routes in New Exhibition

People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
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British Museum Explores ‘Silk Roads’ Trade Routes in New Exhibition

People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)
People walk in front of the British Museum in London, Britain, on September 28, 2023. (Reuters)

A new exhibition exploring the vast network of the Silk Road trade routes opens at the British Museum in London this week.

Showcasing a range of artifacts including Chinese ceramics, Byzantine jewellery and the earliest known group of chess pieces, "Silk Roads" focuses specifically on the period AD 500 to 1,000, amid the rise of different empires and religions.

"This exhibition is presenting a rather different vision of the Silk Road than some people might be expecting... Rather than a single trade route between east and west, we are showing the Silk Roads plural... as a series of overlapping networks that link communities across Asia, Africa and Europe," exhibition co-curator Sue Brunning told Reuters.

"We're showing that it was not just silk and spices... but also people, objects and ideas moving sometimes great distances, not just by land, but also by sea and river and exchanges taking place in all contexts."

Highlights include loans from central Asia such as a large mural found in the reception hall of an aristocratic house in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and a gilded silver cup from the Galloway Hoard, on loan from the National Museums Scotland.

"Silk Roads" opens on Thursday and runs until February.