Saudis urged to show their ‘authentic glam’ on Founding Day with traditional costumes

Saudi Arabia’s regional outfits are designed and created according to the materials available and fit the area’s climate and surrounding area. (AN photo by Basheer Saleh)
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Updated 05 October 2023
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Saudis urged to show their ‘authentic glam’ on Founding Day with traditional costumes

  • GEA’s Turki Alalshikh offers free entry to two Riyadh Season zones for all those who dress up
  • Saudi Arabia has a rich history of diverse and colorful fashion when it comes to its traditional costumes

JEDDAH: People wearing traditional Founding Day costumes on Feb. 22 will gain free entry to two prominent Riyadh Season zones, as the country prepares to commemorate the establishment of the first Saudi state in 1727 by Imam Muhammad bin Saud.

The chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, tweeted last week: “On February 22, there will be free entry to #Riyadh_City Boulevard and #WinterWonderland for everyone who wears #FoundingDay clothing. We are waiting to see your authentic Saudi glam. #Riyadh_Season.”

There were positive reactions to his tweet.

One person (@ahmd_rl) said: “I am so excited to see everyone looking their best on the Founding Day at Riyadh City Boulevard,” while another (@saadss100) tweeted: “Appreciations for the brilliant idea Turki Alalshikh. This really reflects the authenticity and antiquity of our historical clothing and how proud we are.”

Alalshikh’s tweet followed a Feb. 15 Fashion Commission announcement about the 22 styles listed in the Saudi traditional costume guide on its website, which features clothing from the Kingdom’s five main regions for women, men, and children.

Saudi Arabia has a rich history of diverse and colorful fashion when it comes to its traditional costumes.

Each region has different tribes and each tribe has its own style, but only a few of those costumes are well-known as the rest have been forgotten due to the lack of proper documentation about them and tribal migration.

Nadia Alireza, a member of Mansoojat Foundation and one of the researchers of  "Traditional Costumes of Saudi Arabia,” previously told Arab News that the fashion people chose to wear was one way to identify who they were, the time they lived in, their social background, and where they were from.

Saudi Arabia’s regional outfits are designed and created according to the materials available and fit the area’s climate and surrounding area.

“There are many colors used in traditional Saudi costuming,” she said. “They used a lot of leather, metal and colored beads, and gold and silver thread for embroideries. In some cases, rubber from old tires is used to make footwear.”

The Founding Day fashion guide lists 22 styles of costumes as well as glamorous accessories, jewelry, shawls, bags, and sandals to go with each outfit.

The pieces and colors of each costume are carefully chosen and according to detailed research on the traditional fashions worn during the three previous centuries in the Arabian Peninsula’s regions.

Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 administrative regions, 46 cities, and five main regions.

The Fashion Commission tweeted: “Several factors affected traditional fashion in the Kingdom, each region has special characteristics that influence its costumes, and the surrounding environment also plays a role in the forms of inscriptions, material types, and colors. Traditional fashion, which is produced locally using the finest textiles and fabrics, is considered a major part of the Kingdom’s history.”

There are five types of agal, a key men’s accessory in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council region. The agal is a doubled-up black cord that is worn on top of the head and is traditionally made of goat hair, cotton, and golden thread.

Each region has tweaked the agal in its own way to reflect its individuality. In some areas it is thick, in other areas it is thin with golden clips.

Men in the eastern regions wear a two-piece outfit, a white thobe and an outer cloak known as a bisht. The same goes for men from the central region, but they call it a mroden and it is usually worn on special occasions. Men in the south wear the same piece and they call it a jabbah as it features a solid cloak without any golden trim.

There is also a piece of clothing called the sdiri and this is similar to a vest worn over the thobe by men of the western region. It has the same features of the bisht but is shorter.

Another piece worn over a thobe by men from the central and southern areas is called the daglah. It is made out of cotton or wool, sometimes leather, and has beautiful embroidery on the chest area made from copper, gold, silver, or cotton thread to add a glamorous touch as the costume is worn on formal occasions.

A leather belt is worn over thobes by men from the central and southern regions as an accessory. Some like to add a third belt around their waist with an ornamental dagger hung in the middle of it to reflect power and wealth.

Lailah Al-Bassam, a Saudi expert in traditional fashion and textile heritage, told Arab News: “The progress of nations can be measured through their heritage and traditional arts, and our country is characterized by a long history that extends back thousands of years. Our civilization and the many fields of our traditional arts are ramified.

“Our Saudi costumes are full of different elements that express our special taste in lifestyle practice, as well as what fits with our environment and stems from our customs and traditions.”

Dresses are an essential item in the Saudi woman’s wardrobe.

All the listed regions feature elegant but modest dresses in many colors and cuts, with names such as almohothal, alsidrah, alnashl, kurtah and almasdah. They come in brown, black, blue, red, pink, and beige. Women’s outfits have head coverings, and central region women wear a stylish face covering made from black fabric, drawing attention to the eyes.

Women from the central region used to have a very distinctive piece of jewelry for the head, chest, and waist called the hzam and hamah.

Al-Bassam said that fashion could be considered one of the most important heritage elements. 

“By reviewing what our ancestors left us with including the clothing heritage, distinguished by the richness of its colors, the simplicity of its lines, its modesty, and the splendor of artistic beauty that reaches a high degree of perfection and accuracy in work.

“Despite the primitiveness of tools and the lack of capabilities back then, it is important for us to preserve it and to use it as a source from which we derive our distinctive personality and our special character.

Preserving our traditional costumes help us to reach the ultimate level of authenticity and harmony with the ways of living in a developed society concerned with preserving its ancient traditions.”


Saudi Arabia ‘categorically rejects’ Israel’s plan to seize Gaza territory

Updated 08 May 2025
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Saudi Arabia ‘categorically rejects’ Israel’s plan to seize Gaza territory

  • Israeli authorities on Monday approved plans to take over territory and forcibly displace population
  • Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemns Israel’s violations of international law

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “categorically rejected” plans by Israel to expand its military operations in Gaza and seize control of the territory.

The ministry also “strongly condemned the continued Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law.”

Israeli authorities on Monday approved a new ground operation to take over parts of Gaza, forcibly displace Palestinians into the south of the territory, and control the distribution of humanitarian aid. The Israeli army is calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

The announcement sparked widespread international condemnation. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said it stood firmly opposed to any attempted expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and stressed the importance of holding Israel accountable for failures to comply with international resolutions.

The Kingdom continues to have “unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, in line with international legitimacy, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital,” the ministry added.


Saudi project destroys 600 more Houthi landmines and other explosives in Yemen

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi project destroys 600 more Houthi landmines and other explosives in Yemen

  • The devices, cleared from various parts of the war-torn country in recent months, were safely detonated on Wednesday
  • Project Masam has removed nearly 500,000 mines across Yemen since its launch in 2018

RIYADH: Members of the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance, also known as Project Masam, safely detonated 600 mines, unexploded ordnance and other explosive devices on Wednesday.

The project’s engineers had demined and removed the devices over the past few months from various parts of Yemen, including the town of Beihan and the districts of Usaylan and Ain in Shabwah governorate.

Hussein Al-Aqili, commander of the project’s survey team, said they carried out the destruction operation in the Thahba area of Ain district on Wednesday as part of their ongoing mission to clear mines and other remnants of war in Yemen, and save civilian lives.

The project has cleared nearly 500,000 mines from the country since its work there began in 2018.

Last week, Ousama Algosaibi, the managing director of Masam, warned that the Houthis continue to exploit periods of truce to plant more mines across Yemen.

“We are in a constant race with the Houthi militias; we clear mines from one side while they plant more on the other,” he said during an interview with Al-Ekhbariya TV.


Saudi ambassador meets Bahrain King’s media affairs adviser

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi ambassador meets Bahrain King’s media affairs adviser

Saudi Ambassador to Bahrain Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairi was received by Nabeel bin Yacoub Al-Hamer, media affairs adviser to the King of Bahrain, in Manama on Wednesday.

The adviser expressed his pride in the solid fraternal relations and deep-rooted historical ties that bind the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He also wished Al-Sudairi continued success in his duties, which will further support and strengthen the fraternal ties, mutual coordination, and close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in various fields, and particularly in the media.


 


Saudi commission expands music access for people with disabilities

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi commission expands music access for people with disabilities

  • Push for accessible arts programming reflects wider goals for social development

MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission has launched a national initiative to expand access to music education for people with disabilities, marking a key step toward their greater inclusion in the Kingdom’s cultural landscape.

Focused on Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar, the program trains instructors to teach students with physical and cognitive disabilities.

It supports the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to elevate quality of life and ensure opportunities for all segments of society.

Music education expert Issa Al-Qarbi praised the initiative as a transformative step in supporting individuals with disabilities.

“Music is a highly effective medium for stimulating brain activity, developing motor and social skills, and enhancing overall psychological well-being,” he said.

The initiative includes adapting teaching methods, specialized curricula and fully accessible learning environments aligned with the requirements of the Mowaamah certification, a program which provides support to increase participation among disabled individuals in the labor market.

In designing the program, the commission partnered with international experts in music on the curricula and programs that align with global best practices.

The existing models were reviewed using the standards set by the National Association for Music Education.

The commission’s goal is to empower students to express themselves through music, boost their self-confidence and enhance their social, cognitive and motor skills.

The students will receive extended training that prepares them for group performances while supporting their artistic, cognitive and social development. Sessions with parents and community members are also being planned to raise awareness and encourage family engagement.

Al-Qarbi said that long-term sustainability and lasting impacts could be ensured by closer partnerships between the education and healthcare sectors.

He praised the initiative as a regional model, opening the door to further research and innovation.

He said that teaching music to individuals with disabilities went beyond technical skills, nurturing essential personal qualities such as patience, discipline and social engagement, which in turn positively influenced many areas of their lives.


Saudi surgeons separate Egyptian child from parasitic twin

Updated 07 May 2025
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Saudi surgeons separate Egyptian child from parasitic twin

  • Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah says operation is one of the most delicate carried out by his team
  • Procedure takes 8 hours and involves multidisciplinary team of 26 consultants

RIYADH: A medical team from the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program successfully completed a surgical procedure on Wednesday to separate an Egyptian child from a parasitic twin.

The operation on 8-month-old Mohammed Abdulrahman Juma at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh took eight hours and was split into six stages. It involved a multidisciplinary team of 26 consultants, including specialists in anesthesia, neurosurgery, pediatrics and plastic surgery.

A parasitic twin, also known as a vestigial twin, is an identical twin that stopped developing during gestation and is physically attached to a fully developed twin. Because it did not fully develop, it cannot survive on its own and often dies in the womb or during birth.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who heads the surgical team and is an advisor at the royal court and supervisor general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, said the twins were joined at the back, lower chest, abdomen and pelvis. The parasitic twin lacked a head and essential organs, including a heart and kidneys.

Al-Rabeeah described the operation as one of the most delicate his team has been involved with, and thanked his colleagues for their efficiency and skill during the surgery, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Mohammed and his parents flew to Saudi Arabia in March after King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued directives for medics in the Kingdom to help the child.

The operation on Wednesday was the 63rd separation procedure carried out under the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, which has reviewed 149 cases of patients from 27 countries since its inception in 1990.