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Saudi Embassy in Poland Organizes International Year of Camelids Celebration

The event drew a large crowd of Polish citizens, diplomats, and media representatives. (SPA)
The event drew a large crowd of Polish citizens, diplomats, and media representatives. (SPA)
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Saudi Embassy in Poland Organizes International Year of Camelids Celebration

The event drew a large crowd of Polish citizens, diplomats, and media representatives. (SPA)
The event drew a large crowd of Polish citizens, diplomats, and media representatives. (SPA)

The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Poland hosted in Warsaw on Sunday an activity to commemorate the International Year of Camelids.

A special tent was erected for the occasion, featuring brochures highlighting the Kingdom's culture and history, alongside an informative presentation on camels as a significant cultural and heritage symbol integral to Saudi identity.

The event drew a large crowd of Polish citizens, diplomats, and media representatives.

Guests were treated to traditional Saudi coffee and dates, warmly received for its hospitality characteristic of the Kingdom.

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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)
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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.