Saudi Arabia Rolls Out Lavender Carpet for Trump
No, don't call it purple. When President Trump disembarked from Air Force One in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, he stepped onto the rich lavender-colored carpet unfurled before him, just one feature of the lavish welcome extended to the visiting American leader on the first day of his Gulf tour.
Along with a fighter-jet escort in the air and riders on Arabian horses on the ground, the lavender carpet is one of the distinctive and symbolic Saudi protocols for greeting high-profile dignitaries. Saudi Arabia swapped red carpets for lavender in 2021, as the ruling royal family sought to define its own protocols and celebrate national identity, according to a report by the official Saudi Press Agency published at the time.
'Lavender in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is associated with blossoming wildflowers that carpet the kingdom's desert landscapes in the spring and is a symbol of Saudi generosity,' the report said.
In spring, Saudi Arabia's rugged dunes are covered in lavender, basil and Germander, a flowering shrub that grows across the Arabian Peninsula, also known by the Arabic name 'Aihan.'
The color of the carpet is also a nod to how the blooms transform an otherwise harsh desert landscape, the report said, symbolizing the growth that Prince Mohammed has promised to generate through his blueprint to diversify the economy of the oil-dependent kingdom, called 'Vision 2030.'
The carpet features a border of the traditional Al Sadu textile design created by Bedouin women. The geometric patterns, tightly woven on a hand loom, were included on a list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity compiled by the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, in 2020.
Saudi Arabia first rolled out a lavender carpet in 2021, for Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, a key Saudi partner in the Gulf, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The carpet is also used for state receptions and other official occasions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
14 minutes ago
- CNN
Tom Homan says Newsom hasn't done anything to warrant arrest
White House border czar Tom Homan joined CNN's Kaitlan Collins to discuss comments President Donald Trump made suggesting Homan arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom.
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
Tom Homan says Newsom hasn't done anything to warrant arrest
White House border czar Tom Homan joined CNN's Kaitlan Collins to discuss comments President Donald Trump made suggesting Homan arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom.
CNN
21 minutes ago
- CNN
Blake Lively's lawyer on Taylor Swift's role in legal fight
Blake Lively's lawyer on Taylor Swift's role in legal fight CNN's Jake Tapper speaks with Blake Lively's attorney Michael Gottlieb about how Taylor Swift was brought into the legal fight between Lively and Justin Baldoni. 01:04 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 14 videos Blake Lively's lawyer on Taylor Swift's role in legal fight CNN's Jake Tapper speaks with Blake Lively's attorney Michael Gottlieb about how Taylor Swift was brought into the legal fight between Lively and Justin Baldoni. 01:04 - Source: CNN Tanks arrive in DC ahead of US Army parade As the 250th anniversary celebration for the US Army approaches, a freight train of tanks was seen making its way into the nation's capital. The long-planned celebration in Washington will coincide with Trump's 79th birthday and include thousands of troops. The Army had said it has no plans to recognize the president's birthday. 00:40 - Source: CNN Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota A Colombian senator and presidential hopeful is in a critical condition after being shot twice at an event in Bogota, according to national police and prosecutors. Police arrested a 15-year-old carrying a Glock pistol, according to the Attorney General's Office. Miguel Uribe expressed intentions to run in the 2026 presidential election for the country's largest opposition party, the center-right Centro Democrático, or Democratic Center. 01:05 - Source: CNN Immigration protests break out in Los Angeles President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to disperse the protests that began in the Los Angeles area in response to immigration raids. Law enforcement authorities and demonstrators have clashed for two days. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports. 01:34 - Source: CNN Coco Gauff reacts to winning the French Open Coco Gauff claimed her second career grand slam singles title, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open women's final. 00:46 - Source: CNN Protesters confront authorities following ICE raids in Los Angeles Federal immigration operations in Los Angeles were met by protests. ICE declined to discuss the details of its operations. 00:43 - Source: CNN Attorney for mistakenly deported man talks to Erin Burnett CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, who has been returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges. 02:37 - Source: CNN Trump Admin targets LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month CNN's Ben Hunte breaks down how the Trump Administration has targeted the LGBTQ+ community with its policies in just the first few days of Pride Month. 02:09 - Source: CNN Former 'Diddy' girlfriend reveals 'love contract' A former romantic partner for Sean 'Diddy' Combs using the pseudonym 'Jane' described feeling financially coerced and revealed Combs is still paying for her rent, even as she testified against him at trial. Prosecutors hope the testimony by 'Jane' will drive home charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 01:30 - Source: CNN Trump's border czar on 3 US children leaving the country with their deported mothers White House border czar Tom Homan defended the Trump administration's move to deport three US citizen children last week. Homan told CNN's Priscilla Alvarez the children's parents, who were in the US illegally, made a "parental decision" to leave the country together. Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, denies that the mothers were given a choice whether their children could remain in the US. 01:07 - Source: CNN Trump on Musk: 'The poor guy's got a problem' In a phone call with CNN's Dana Bash, President Donald Trump said he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. The comments come a day after Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. 00:43 - Source: CNN No aliens here: Research disputes possible 'signs of life' on another planet In response to hints of "biosignatures" found on a world called K2-18b, new research suggests there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the exoplanet. CNN's Ashley Strickland reports on the ongoing scientific discourse around the search for extraterrestrial life. 00:43 - Source: CNN Reporter: Trump made $1 billion in crypto in 9 months CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Forbes Magazine's Dan Alexander about President Donald Trump's stunning ownership of billions of dollars worth of crypto. 02:19 - Source: CNN Russia launches strikes across Ukraine Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine overnight killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv and wounding around 40 across the country. 00:32 - Source: CNN
