Tales of Founding Day come to life at Diriyah celebrations

Arab News

24-02-2025

RIYADH: A tale as old as time, Diriyah, heart of the Kingdom and the setting of its first chapter, celebrated Founding Day with an array of musical performances, shows and historical exhibits that ended on Sunday.
Families and guests of all ages and nationalities were welcomed at Diriyah to learn all about the establishment of the First Saudi State.
History lessons were available through shadow theater performances, Kahoot quizzes, interactive screens and palace-side projections displaying the Kingdom's journey.
Guests were tailed by musical groups singing traditional and cultural songs walking around Diriyah, carrying with them the songs of battles fought and won.
Vincent Pomer, a visitor from Boston in the US who is visiting a friend in the Kingdom, told Arab News: 'I feel kind of a sense of contentment and peace, seeing how everybody is respectful of their past.
'I will equate it to, as me being American, the Fourth of July. We celebrate Fourth of July not so much as our freedom but it is our short-lived history … Founding Day is the equivalent here for Saudi Arabia.'
One of the highlights of the celebrations was a Samri show, a Bedouin dance and music that originated in Najd. About 300 years old, Samri was traditionally performed when families gathered on desert nights. Two lines of men would kneel, swaying and clapping while singing poetry and beating on a Daf drum.
The celebrations also included workshops for children and families on various skills, such as perfumery, sketching, painting and bracelet making.
Arab News spoke to Umar Sial, a Pakistani national who has lived in Saudi Arabia for the past six months, to ask about the highlights of his visit to Diriyah with his family.
'This is our first time here. We visited Bujairi Terrace and Al-Turaif area and I think it's very interesting, especially the old heritage they are showcasing' he said.
'Culturally, it's very enlightening for newcomers.'
Sial's favorite attraction was seeing what the old houses were like in Salwa Palace and how people used to live, in addition to the singers and dancers presenting throughout the event.
According to Sial, foreign nationals could greatly benefit from attending such events to strengthen their cultural ties to the Kingdom.
'These (events) are very important to understand how things work here, especially if you want to integrate into their culture, you see how they are raised, how they speak, what their songs are like, how they eat, how their family systems work, you see their families are all around them.
'I think these are very important if you want to understand how culture works in Saudi Arabia,' he said.
Saudi Arabia is known for being proud of its food and this was showcased by real Saudi families on every route.
Each of these families had their own booth and had prepared traditional dishes like saleeg, foul and more, given out freely to the wandering guests.
Historical figures such as Imam Mohammed bin Saud, the founding father of the First Saudi State, and his wife Princess Modi bint Khalid Al Saud were given center stage as their stories were told through performances during the Diriyah Remembrance segments of the evening, detailing Imam Mohammed bin Saud's full journey in solidifying the early days of the Kingdom.
Melissa Sarawi, a guest from the Philippines in Saudi Arabia with her family, told Arab News that the most exciting aspects of Saudi culture for foreign nationals to see were the food and the people.
Sarawi said that as a Muslim it had been fascinating to learn about Islam from its birthplace and its historic associations with Saudi Arabia.
'Coming here and experiencing Founding Day is very good, it's very new to me. I am a Muslim in nature and by birth, and learning more about these things in Riyadh, like learning about the history of Islam and all these historical places … (it's) refreshing to know about these things.'
Contestants from the Rawi Al-Diriyah competition, a storytelling competition produced jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Diriyah Gate Development Authority for school students reciting historic Diriyah stories, were also featured during these narratives.
Other activities included a horse show and showcasing the Arabian horse, presenting traditional Najdi dress and live poetry sessions.