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Islamic Arts Biennale Transforms Hajj Terminal into Museum

Under the theme “Awwal Bait” (First House), the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the Islamic civilization. Photo: Abdullah al-Falih
Under the theme “Awwal Bait” (First House), the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the Islamic civilization. Photo: Abdullah al-Falih
    Jeddah - Iman al-Khataf
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Islamic Arts Biennale Transforms Hajj Terminal into Museum

Under the theme “Awwal Bait” (First House), the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the Islamic civilization. Photo: Abdullah al-Falih
Under the theme “Awwal Bait” (First House), the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the Islamic civilization. Photo: Abdullah al-Falih

A wide audience of art fans from around the world attended the first-of-its-kind Islamic Arts Biennale, which launched on Sunday, at the Hajj Terminal of the King Khalid International Airport, Jeddah.

Under the theme “Awwal Bait” (First House), the exhibition is aimed at celebrating the Islamic civilization with an artistic touch that combines contemporary art, rare memorabilia and manuscripts, and unique masterpieces.

Rakan al-Touq, general supervisor of Culture Affairs and International Relations at the Ministry of Culture, and vice-chair of Diriyah Biennale Foundation, said “the Islamic Arts Biennale is an initiative of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, which was established as part of the National Culture Strategy in 2019.”

He noted that “the foundation curated the Contemporary Arts Biennale at the Diriyah’s Jax District, and now, the Islamic Arts Biennale at Hajj Terminal of the King Khalid International Airport, Jeddah.”

About the Biennale’s strategic goals, he said that “it aims to establish bridges of Islamic arts between the kingdom and the world, as many cultural foundations and international museums from several countries are partaking."

The Biennale provides a platform that combines contemporary arts and Islamic artifacts; it’s also a platform for contemporary artists; “We currently have over 50 contemporary artworks made by more than 40 artists including 18 Saudis.”

“We believe that we play a major role in connecting people in this field, practitioners and experts, by building academic, research, and artistic partnerships with international foundations interested in this field,” he added.

Al-Touq revealed that the foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Hajj and Umra to organize tours for Umra visitors in different languages, noting that the exhibition’s content provides over 15 printed and four audio languages to ensure the visitors a rich experience.

“The tree-month exhibition includes a cultural program that features many activities, seminars, workshops, and a children camp. For over 90 days, the Biennale will offer amazing experience for its visitors.”

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.