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Royal Commission for AlUla Seeks to Promote Region’s Food Culture

Royal Commission for AlUla Seeks to Promote Region’s Food Culture
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Royal Commission for AlUla Seeks to Promote Region’s Food Culture

Royal Commission for AlUla Seeks to Promote Region’s Food Culture

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and Slow Food, the Italy-based global food movement, have announced a new partnership to improve and promote the sustainable regeneration of AlUla’s agricultural and culinary ecosystem.

The partnership aims to highlight the economic, social, and health benefits of AlUla products, promote the region's food culture, ensure sustainability in agriculture, and support the production of sustainable food.

The collaboration follows successful food events in AlUla over the past two years, which positioned the region as an appealing destination for food enthusiasts and tourists. It also strengthened connections between northwest Arabia and Slow Food's global network that is active in 150 countries.

The announcement of the partnership coincides with the fifth edition of the AlUla Dates Season, offering significant economic opportunities for local farmers, families involved in cottage industries, and entrepreneurs, celebrating the region's cultural heritage.

As part of the season, Slow Food is hosting culinary demonstrations by Chef Hooryah Abdulqader and Chef Serhan Hasdemir, who presented dishes using AlUla dates last weekend and will continue this weekend on October 25-26 at the farmers' market in AlManshiyah plaza, AlUla.
Slow Food's philosophy emphasizes agroecology, natural resource conservation, and biodiversity preservation, aligning with the RCU's strategic agricultural goals of supporting farmers and opening new markets for their products.
Moreover, the forthcoming establishment of a culinary arts center within AlUla’s cultural oasis will enhance the partnership's long-term objectives. It will act as a hub for knowledge sharing, cooking, and organizing activities related to sustainable agriculture and culinary traditions, encouraging AlUla residents and visitors to embrace traditional practices.
By promoting cultural education and sustainable agricultural practices within food sectors, the collaboration between RCU and Slow Food will bolster AlUla's economy diversification and draw in tourists.

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India’s Architecture Fans Guard Mumbai’s Art Deco Past

In this photograph taken on October 19, 2024, vehicles ride past the Soona Mahal, a UNESCO-designated Art Deco apartment building along the Marine Drive seafront in Mumbai. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on October 19, 2024, vehicles ride past the Soona Mahal, a UNESCO-designated Art Deco apartment building along the Marine Drive seafront in Mumbai. (AFP)
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India’s Architecture Fans Guard Mumbai’s Art Deco Past

In this photograph taken on October 19, 2024, vehicles ride past the Soona Mahal, a UNESCO-designated Art Deco apartment building along the Marine Drive seafront in Mumbai. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on October 19, 2024, vehicles ride past the Soona Mahal, a UNESCO-designated Art Deco apartment building along the Marine Drive seafront in Mumbai. (AFP)

A towering cinema with a roofline like an ocean liner stands out in India's financial capital Mumbai, part of a remarkable Art Deco architectural heritage that campaigners say needs protection.

A short walk away is a state-run insurance office with giant Egyptian-style carvings, and a palm-lined seafront promenade with pastel-colored apartments with porthole windows, curved balconies and exotic motifs.

Architecture aficionados may go crazy over Miami's South Beach, but the coastal Indian megacity is home to what experts believe is one of the world's largest collections of Art Deco buildings.

Decades of neglect, however, have led to buildings being demolished or compromised through slapdash modern renovation.

Lovers of the dramatic architecture fear that will only increase as Mumbai undergoes a rapid $30 billion infrastructure makeover including major road, rail and bridge projects.

A sweep of some Art Deco buildings -- including offices, colleges and residential complexes -- was listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2018, alongside the city's Victorian Gothic architecture for its "unique style" described as "Indo-Deco".

Today, the city's breakneck pace of development has left a small but dedicated group of building owners, architects and heritage lovers trying to conserve the city's Art Deco character.

The job requires "constant vigilance", said Nayana Kathpalia, who lives in an Art Deco building that was recently restored -- but crucially in a manner that maintained its original character.

- 'Modern, open, friendly' -

Many apartment building owners are eager to cash in and redevelop their old dwellings, making them part of a cookie-cutter modern skyline.

"If too many buildings get done in a totally different style, the World Heritage Site committee will say 'what the hell is happening?'," Kathpalia said.

"We are very, very clear that we have to protect that."

Losing it could strip the city of its history and character, campaigners say.

Art Deco took the West by storm after emerging as a new wave of design in France before the First World War.

Architects used geometric patterns and streamlined structures to evoke the popular technologies of the time, including airplanes and ocean liners.

As a style, Art Deco can appear as an odd hodgepodge, borrowing everything from ancient Mayan to Japanese culture.

But the first generation of homegrown Indian architects who visited Europe in the 1920s and 1930s were inspired.

After returning home, they started designing Art Deco style buildings for rich Indian business families that had profited off the economic boom in the port city, said Atul Kumar, founder of a non-profit that seeks to conserve the heritage.

Art Deco "enabled a certain cosmopolitanism" and contributed to making Mumbai a "modern, open, friendly" city, Kumar added.

- 'Bombay style' -

While Kumar's Art Deco Mumbai organization has spent years painstakingly documenting buildings, it has also more recently started offering "repair and restoration" help.

"We go out, pro bono, and reach out to people," he said, having supported the sensitive restoration of around nine buildings, including a couple in the core World Heritage area.

However, there are challenges, including stringent rent control laws which impose financial constraints on landlords.

Kumar also admits that residents in newer and northern parts of the city have less of a "desire" to conserve their buildings in their original Art Deco style.

A large part of this is due to a lack of awareness.

Many of the city's inhabitants walk past the vivid tropical imagery, elongated turrets and jazzy typography without giving them a second glance.

Pranati Mehta, a 46-year-old school teacher, says most Indians only look at "temples as architecture", as they "feel that is special".

Some Mumbai residents don't realize they "live amongst art", she said.

But Mehta, who was on a weekend walking tour to learn more about the architectural style, quickly adds that Art Deco isn't foreign to Indian sensibilities.

"We recognize it as a Bombay style," she said. "We think Art Deco is also an Indian brand".