Jeddah’s 'Al Attarin' Street...History from Artistic Perspective

Papers from the 'Roaming Walls' art work displayed at the Amaken Exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) - Asharq Al-Awsat
Papers from the 'Roaming Walls' art work displayed at the Amaken Exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Jeddah’s 'Al Attarin' Street...History from Artistic Perspective

Papers from the 'Roaming Walls' art work displayed at the Amaken Exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) - Asharq Al-Awsat
Papers from the 'Roaming Walls' art work displayed at the Amaken Exhibition at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) - Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi artist Asma Bahmim takes part in the Amaken Exhibition held at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) with her special work “Roaming Walls,” which depicts scenes from her childhood in the heart of Jeddah.

“Long time ago, people in Hejaz used to put papers that feature Quran verses and holy texts inside walls’ cracks in respect of the words written on them. They also used to hide love letters inside the walls, which had long caught my attention as a kid in Al Attarin street,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

About the idea, she said: “I thought I knew myself through time, but I discovered that my knowledge was formed of scattered memory pieces that assembled with past events that took place in my hometown. My idea is inspired from the house I was born in, its walls that are filled with my dreams, thoughts, and scraps featuring verses from our holy book that were folded and preserved between stones’ cracks. That collection of successive pictures in my head has long provided me with balance.”

In her work, the Saudi artist focuses on the tradition of placing papers between the cracks of walls, and bricks. Bahmim noticed this tradition for the first time when she was visiting her aunt’s house in the historic region, which motivated her to document it in a work inspired by her spatial memory.

- Al Attarin Street -

Asma Bahmim holds a lot of memories from Al Attarin street. “I know all the places there, and I remember many prominent figures that I used to see in that street, where I studied in a language institute. All these things engraved the street in my memory,” she explained.

The artist took advantage of the demolition of the random properties in that region to collect ancient stones, which she used as a major part in her newest artwork “Roaming Walls” made of wastes of construction materials from the historic region of Jeddah, including pieces of bleached coral, stones, and wood.

- Paper making -

Interestingly, Bahmim has long worked in handmade paper. She makes her own papers using banana leaves she dries on the roof of her house, and color them with natural dyes. When asked about the craft, she said her mother used palm leaves in paper making, like a lot of people did at the time.

“Paper making in Hejaz is almost extinct, but I am trying to keep it alive using banana leaves, and I hope to expand it, but the project requires large potentials.”

Bahmim’s works reflect her interest in Islamic arts, such as medieval manuscripts including ‘Maqamat Al Hariri’ and the Panchatantra stories. Her project consists of collecting paper scraps to build a wall with cracks in which she plans to put her personal letters with hand-written words or gold papers.

Asma Bahamim was born in Jeddah, 1979, and studied fine arts at the Jeddah University, where she currently works as a professor. She also partook in the 2018 Islamic Art Festival in Sharjah.



Adopted Wild Boar Threatened with Euthanasia in France

French horse breeder Elodie Cappe walks with "Rillette", a wild boar she rescued as a piglet in 2023 that is now at the center of a legal dispute over the keeping of wild animals in France, at her farm in Chaource, France, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French horse breeder Elodie Cappe walks with "Rillette", a wild boar she rescued as a piglet in 2023 that is now at the center of a legal dispute over the keeping of wild animals in France, at her farm in Chaource, France, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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Adopted Wild Boar Threatened with Euthanasia in France

French horse breeder Elodie Cappe walks with "Rillette", a wild boar she rescued as a piglet in 2023 that is now at the center of a legal dispute over the keeping of wild animals in France, at her farm in Chaource, France, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
French horse breeder Elodie Cappe walks with "Rillette", a wild boar she rescued as a piglet in 2023 that is now at the center of a legal dispute over the keeping of wild animals in France, at her farm in Chaource, France, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Animal rights campaigners in France are fighting to save a wild boar adopted as a piglet by a horse breeder but now threatened with being put down if her owner does not send her to a specialized sanctuary, Reuters reported.
A French court is set to rule in coming days on the fate of "Rillette", who was found as a tiny piglet outside the horse farm of Elodie Cappe in Chaource, central France, in April 2023.
Now a big sow with a bristly brown coat, Rillette strolls around between the horses and dogs on the farm and enthusiastically kicks around a big plastic ball with her snout.
"I do not know how she sees me. Maybe I am her mother, maybe her best friend, or just her protector, but as you can see there is a link of love between us," Cappe said as she hugged Rillette in the hay and kissed her on the snout.
Cappe says Rillette no longer is a wild animal and that two attempts to set her free have failed miserably as the boar immediately ran back towards her owners.
"Rillette has no link whatsoever with her own species. If we release her in the woods, she will sit in middle of the road and run to the first human she sees," she said.
Authorities' attempts to remove the boar on health and safety grounds have whipped up a storm of protest in France.
Last weekend hundreds of people in the area marched behind a "Free Rillette" banner, while animal rights campaigner and movie icon Brigitte Bardot posted on X: "I ask that Rillette be saved...who are the monsters who want to euthanize her?".
Rillette's owner says she will fight to save her. "All will depend on the magistrate's decision, but it could come down to euthanasia, and I will not let that happen," said Cappe, who risks three years in jail for failing to comply.
Cappe said that Rillette - jokingly named after a regional dish of shredded pork - is sterilized and vaccinated and poses no danger to the public as she is confined to the farm.
"Why would they take her away, since she is happy here and does not bother anyone?" she asked.