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DGDA Holds Eid Al-Adha Festivities

DGDA Holds Eid Al-Adha Festivities
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DGDA Holds Eid Al-Adha Festivities

DGDA Holds Eid Al-Adha Festivities

As part of its commitment to strengthening bonds with the local community, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) is holding a series of festive events in mosques, parks, and gardens across the city of Diriyah to celebrate Eid Al-Adha.

DGDA’s participation in the Eid Al-Adha celebrations reaffirms its commitment to engaging in social activities and events. With the residents of Diriyah as crucial partners, the authority aims to involve them in the realization of its vision to transform Diriyah into a dynamic global cultural and tourist destination.

Diriyah will also spread the spirit of Eid by deploying a fleet of "Fun Busses" that will travel across the neighborhood and parks, bringing joy to locals and visitors alike. The buses will travel through Al-Khalidiya Park, Al-Faisaliah Park, and Jax Park during the first three days of Eid. Each evening throughout the four-day Eid Al-Adha holiday, cultural and heritage events will take place at 8:00 pm in conjunction with the local municipality, traffic authority, police department, Diriyah Hospital, and other local entities.

The authority has also collaborated with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture to oversee the organization of Eid meals. This collaboration helps to prioritize sustainability across Diriyah by ensuring proper waste disposal and utilization at the Diriyah abattoir.

Furthermore, DGDA launched “The Good Neighbor” initiative, which works to distribute special bags for first aid kits and Eid decoration boxes. The goal is to increase public awareness of the significant role that family activities play in bringing Diriyah’s rich and dynamic local culture to life, SPA reported.

In addition to these festivities, Bujairi Terrace will be celebrating this year’s Eid Al-Adha holiday, with its, breathtaking views overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif. From the 28th of June to the 1st of July, visitors can enjoy traditional sounds entertainment and activities for the entire family while dining at any of its 20 restaurants.

In the spirit of celebration, DGDA will also actively serve pilgrims during the Hajj season through the Diriyah’s Scouts program. Organized by DGDA’s Society Participation Department, in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association and several other entities, a dedicated team of more than 18 Diriyah Scouts provides support to pilgrims throughout their stay.

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Giant Coral Colony Discovered in Red Sea

This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
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Giant Coral Colony Discovered in Red Sea

This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG
This natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA. Photo: RSG

Red Sea Global (RSG) has announced the significant discovery of a giant coral colony in the Red Sea (of the Pavona species) within the waters of AMAALA on the northwestern coast of Saudi Arabia.

Rivalling the size of the current world record holder—a 32-by-34-meter colony found in the Pacific—this remarkable new find is the largest coral colony of this type documented in the Red Sea to date.

According to a statement issued by the RSG on Sunday, this natural wonder could become a key highlight for tourists at AMAALA on diving excursions, offering a unique and unforgettable experience.

Access would be permitted in line with RSG’s responsible tourism ethos, minimizing any potential impact while allowing visitors to witness the breathtaking beauty of the Red Sea’s underwater world.

“The discovery of a coral of such extraordinary dimensions demonstrates the ecological significance as well as the pristine beauty of the Red Sea,” said RSG’s Head of Environmental Protection and Regeneration Ahmed Alansari.

“At RSG, we believe it is critically important to protect our coral reefs. In particular, these giants represent a time capsule of information, providing the ideal tools for tracing past oceanographic transformations that can help us model responses to future environmental changes,” he stated.

“Understanding how this coral has survived for so long will be crucial for protecting other reefs in the Red Sea and potentially all over the world, for generations to come,” he added.

According to the statement, determining the age of these giant corals with minimal impact is challenging due to the invasive nature of accurate dating techniques and the absence of published growth rates for this particular species of coral in the Red Sea. However, estimations have been made based on the coral’s size, growth rates of this species found in the Pacific, and results from photogrammetry efforts. Using these tools, the coral cluster is estimated to be between 400 and 800 years old.

Upcoming studies by researchers from RSG and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will help pinpoint the coral’s age more accurately and provide insights into the environmental conditions in which it has thrived.

Coral in the Red Sea is known for its particular resilience, adapting genetically to naturally warmer waters and higher salinity levels. This colony will be subject to ongoing monitoring and research to understand what makes these giants so resilient to multiple stressors over long time periods and to help inform conservation efforts for other reefs in the Red Sea and around the world.
The two RSG scientists who discovered the giant coral colony, Rhonda Suka and Sylvia Jagerroos, are now leading its mapping and documentation.
Suka said: “Finding such an invaluable specimen was a truly mind-boggling experience. This colony’s resilience gives us hope for the continued success of corals in the Red Sea, particularly in the face of increasing environmental and anthropogenic stress.”

“A coral this massive is incredibly rare. Mapping these giants is an important part of conserving them, something the ‘Map the Giants’ project is doing on a global scale by identifying and documenting these vital giant coral structures, which it classes as anything larger than five meters. This is the second colony RSG has submitted to the project in the last few months,” said Jagerroos.

The statement disclosed that AMAALA is set to welcome its first guests later this year with the ambitious goal of becoming the world’s most comprehensive health and wellness destination. Launching with more than 1,400 hotel rooms across eight luxury resorts, it will welcome some of the most renowned wellness operators globally, offering a wide array of programs tailored to diverse lifestyles and well-being needs.
This follows RSG’s other destination, The Red Sea, which began welcoming guests in 2023 and now has five hotels open.