Latest news with #culturalexperience
Arab News
03-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Arab News
Traditional Saudi crafts adorn pilgrimage route
MAKKAH: Traditional arts and crafts through a modern visual lens can be seen along the Hijrah Road between Makkah and Madinah. The recently completed billboard project, carried out by the Roads General Authority in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, known as Wrth, aligns with the Year of Handicrafts 2025. The billboards feature designs inspired by traditional motifs and crafts such as weaving, reflecting national identity, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The billboards feature designs inspired by traditional motifs and crafts such as weaving, reflecting national identity. (SPA) Illustrations highlight the beauty of local arts and regional patterns with the aim of enriching pilgrims' cultural experience and promoting heritage tourism. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's largest and most interconnected road networks, facilitating pilgrim and tourist movement across the Kingdom, and strengthening efforts to highlight its cultural heritage across the regions. The Roads General Authority has also launched a 'mobile sites' service on the Hijrah Road to help pilgrims if their buses break down, ensuring their comfort and safety as they travel between Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites. The service operates 24/7 during Hajj on the Hijrah Road and can accommodate around 40 pilgrims. It includes air conditioning, rest areas, restrooms, cold beverages and meals.
Times of Oman
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times of Oman
Moscow welcomes Middle Eastern guests to a luxurious summer
Muscat: This summer, the Russian capital opens its arms to travelers from the Middle East, offering a cool, elegant escape from the heat of the Gulf. With its blend of refined hospitality, immersive cultural experiences, and lush green landscapes, Moscow is set to become a favored destination for those seeking a unique summer retreat. The city is abuzz with world-class festivals and artistic celebrations. This summer brings a vibrant calendar of seasonal experiences designed to delight visitors of all ages: Moscow Estates Festival invites guests to step back in time with immersive programs hosted at more than 40 historic estates across the city. Theatre Boulevard will unfold across 14 open-air venues with a record-breaking 92-day run, featuring over 600 performances and 3,000 artists from Russia and abroad. Each stage will also host creative workshops, patriotic programs, and family-friendly interactive zones. Gardens and Flowers Festival will turn Moscow's urban spaces into blooming landscapes filled with rare plants and vibrant floral art. This festival celebrates the harmony of beauty and ecology, offering stunning backdrops for summer strolls and photos. Street. Dance and Street. Art projects bring open-air dancing, musical evenings, and plein-air art sessions to life in central Moscow, with free master classes and exhibitions on Strastnoy Boulevard. Moscow's iconic parks will also come alive with sound this season. From jazz improvisations and rock ballads to electronic music and solo acoustic sets, visitors will enjoy concerts and shows under the open sky. New picnic zones and family programmes across the parks offer fun, relaxation, and entertainment for all ages. International visitors can also explore 14 'Made in Moscow' art pavilions, offering locally crafted souvenirs and unique gifts. The Green Market showcases more than 700 top brands from the 'Made in Moscow' initiative. From cosmetics and home décor to sweets and pet goods, guests can shop in colourful art pavilions shaped like rockets, candy boxes, and balloons — open all summer and complemented by food courts, lectures, and creative workshops. Luxury and comfort await at Moscow's premium hotels, many of which offer spa and wellness services, private suites, and dedicated amenities for guests from the Gulf. Personalised experiences, including private guided tours of the Kremlin, Red Square, and the city's museums, create a tailored journey through Moscow's rich history and heritage. Families traveling with children will find a welcoming environment filled with attractions such as aquaparks, science centers, zoos, and sprawling parks like Gorky Park and VDNH. Culturally sensitive hospitality, including halal-certified dining, prayer rooms, and Arabic-speaking staff, ensures all guests feel at ease. Moscow also invites guests to explore its sophisticated shopping scene, from iconic department stores like GUM and TSUM to exclusive Russian designer boutiques and artisan markets. Whether one seeks high fashion or local craftsmanship, the city offers a shopping experience to match the world's style capitals.
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
The Milan neighborhood where East meets West
Europe's unrivalled capital of chic, Milan is primarily a glamour destination. But there is an alternative to the classic dolce vita; a hotspot to which young, savvy Milanese flock for weekends of cross-cultural enjoyment. I jump on autobus 94 heading north from the exclusive Quadrilatero della Moda district, where Via Monte Napoleone and Via della Spiga are lined by the opulent showrooms of Gucci, Prada, Versace and Armani. Ten minutes later it arrives by the bustling Porta Garibaldi station, at one end of Via Paolo Sarpi, the heart of Milan's reborn Chinatown, a vibrant neighbourhood surrounded by bohemian cultural venues. The street is narrow and now almost completely pedestrianised, with trees and greenery making for a pleasant stroll. There's a shop selling Borsalino hats, a store full of artists' supplies and a tobacconist, but instead of the traditional trattorie serving plates of risotto alla Milanese, I pass Chinese restaurants offering everything from dim sum to Hong Kong bubble tea and spicy Chungking hotpot . Deep-fried pork, octopus and vegetable skewers are devoured by customers sitting on tiny pavement stools. Even Milan's hallowed early evening aperitif has been transformed in Chinatown, whose hip cafes offer aperitivo Cinese: a negroni accompanied by an assortment of wontons, bao buns, spring rolls and edamame beans – all for €10 (US$11) a serving. Members of Centro Culturale Cinese on Via Paolo Sarpi prepare paper signs ahead of Lunar New Year in February 2024. Members of the Chinese diaspora can be found across Italy; serving wine in a Venetian osteria, selling leather handbags on Florence's Ponte Vecchio, running clothes stalls in rural markets down south in Puglia. And while the biggest concentration may be in Tuscany's Prato, working in the textile industry, the most established Chinese community in Italy is right here, in Milan. Dating back almost a century, Milan's Chinatown is markedly different from those in other European cities due to both the Italianisation of the younger generation of Chinese and the acceptance of this immigrant community by the Milanese, who have fallen in love with Chinese cuisine. Some 4,000 Chinese live in or around Via Paolo Sarpi – 40,000 in all Milan – and this kilometre-long street is lined on both sides by their restaurants and bars, and stores selling Asian comestibles. Although the neighbourhood is particularly animated during celebrations for Lunar New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival , there is a cosmopolitan feel here every day, the street thronged with crowds drawn by the cuisine as well as a significant number of Milanese-Chinese who switch between languages. 'I prefer to speak in Italian as I do at school and with all my friends, but my mamma insists that at home we must all speak Mandarin,' says Emily, the daughter of the recently arrived immigrants from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, who own Bar 99, as I sip on a cappuccino. At the former Macelleria Sirtori butcher's shop, now Ravioleria Sarpi, Agie Zhou (right) poses with Walter Sirtori, the retired master butcher who still selects the meat for Zhou's Chinatown restaurant. Photo: John Brunton I find out more about this duality after entering a shaded courtyard where red doors, hanging lanterns and delicate calligraphy announce the Centro Culturale Cinese, the cultural hub of the Quartiere Cinese.
The National
16-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Beihouse: Upscale community hub rises from the ashes of the Beirut Port explosion
Beirut's Gemmayzeh district famously boasts a vibrant social scene, filled with everything from cosy cafes and beautiful heritage architecture to fine dining restaurants and countless bars. In many ways, the newly opened Beihouse embodies all of these elements, seamlessly combining them into a single incredible – and quintessentially Lebanese – experience. 'We wanted to do something to express Beirut at its fullest, through design; food; arts and crafts,' owner Said Daher tells The National. 'It's a place where you feel you are already at home, celebrating with your family and friends. It's a culmination of aspirations that I wanted to put in one place; a microcosm of Beirut as a whole.' Housed in a trio of stunning converted villas built around an opulent open-air courtyard, Beihouse offers several dining experiences in exceptional settings both within and without. In 2020, all three buildings were devastated by the Beirut Port explosion, along with much of the surrounding neighbourhood. In the aftermath, many other damaged heritage houses were simply torn down to be replaced with new apartment buildings; a fate that Daher was keen to avert for the complex. The damage was extensive. It would take two years of continuous work to restore structural integrity and make the buildings safe again, before restoring them to their former glory. New additions were also made as the project progressed, including the adding of extra floors to two of the existing buildings. However, throughout the entire renovation, great care was taken to ensure that the original charm of the houses would not be overshadowed. 'The buildings were just 200 metres from the epicentre of the explosion,' explains interior designer Linda Boronkay. 'There was a real urgency to preserve what remained. The older two houses were built in the 1800s, during the late Ottoman period, and are classic examples of traditional Beiruti houses or central hall houses. Courtyards played an essential role in this layout, acting as both domestic and social spaces. The more recent of the three, built in the 1920s, is an early example of the shift from traditional stone construction to the use of concrete, while still retaining many classic Lebanese design elements. 'It was clear to us that this was not a site to be erased or rebuilt; it was a place to be gently revived and honoured,' she continues. 'We approached the project with a deep respect for the original architecture.' For Nadine Harake, lead architect on Beihouse for Dagher Hanna & Partners, the top priority was salvaging anything they could. 'For the parts that we needed to rebuild, we sourced local stones that were recovered from other sites that no longer needed them," she says. "We kept trying to reuse old materials, to keep the spirit of the buildings intact. All of the new additions are done with a new aesthetic. They balance the existing structures, but don't impose over them. The old buildings are always highlighted.' The result is a lavish and lush, secreted-away garden terrace, centred around a vibrant olive tree, and enclosed by three lovingly-restored and revamped houses, each with their own unique character. 'The resilience, resourcefulness and talent of the Lebanese craftspeople we worked with were truly extraordinary; their creativity made everything possible,' says Boronkay. 'Each house has its own mood, but they're united by a shared design language. The colour palette evolves subtly from one space to another, but they speak to each other through shared textures and handcrafted details.' Almost every element to be found in Beihouse is either bespoke or locally sourced through an extensive network of Lebanese craft artisans, from the straw parquetry on the bar fronts to the mosaic in the garden lounge. The venue also boasts an astounding collection of vintage Lebanese and European furniture, adding a marvelous, unforced grandeur to its already striking decor, as well as the reassuring weight of history. One especially eye-catching piece is the antique Lalique mirror that hangs behind Beihouse's bar, framed by antique Italian sconces that are more than a century old. All of these disparate elements mingle together wonderfully, giving Beihouse a rich tableau of different ambiences to choose from; the perfect setting for a wide variety of guest experiences, especially when it comes to dining. 'Our chef has done a great job in creating an offering that is unique and different from the mainstream, where you can come and enjoy the different tastes,' says Daher. 'You can nibble on something and have a casual cocktail at the bar. If you're hungry, and you want to really enjoy yourself and experience the food, you've got our restaurant menu in the Dining Room. And, if all you want to do is have a drink or smoke a cigar in private, you can go to the Living Room upstairs.' Masterminded by Tarek Alameddine, formerly sous-chef at Denmark's three Michelin-starred restaurant Noma, Beihouse's menu is simply breathtaking, drawing upon Beirut's endlessly creative and multifaceted culinary scene. Local Levantine and Mediterranean flavours meet international cuisine, from elevated bar snacks such as smoked hummus and caviar and a Wagyu katsu sando, to grilled sea bass, sour cherry glazed short ribs and Australian black angus tenderloin. Enjoy mixed drinks crafted from local ingredients. Beihouse is more than just a place to indulge, however. It also serves as a collaborative and creative social hub, incorporating both a dedicated workspace ideal for meetings and discussions, and L'Atelier, which serves as a platform for art classes, workshops and exhibitions. And the endeavour continues to expand in scope, with the further addition of a boutique hotel coming over the next two years. 'We're looking at this project as an evolving story,' says Daher. 'We've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to acquire the other building in front of us. It's not a big space, but our plan is to turn it into about 16 suites, catering to people who love to come and enjoy Beirut.'
Arab News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
‘Slava's Snowshow' delights Riyadh audience
RIYADH: 'Slava's Snowshow' opened in Riyadh on Thursday before an audience of 200 people, mostly families with children, at the Baker Al-Shedi Theater. The event, organized by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, is part of the commission's efforts to enhance the city's cultural scene in line with Vision 2030's Quality of Life Program. 'Slava's Snowshow runs' from May 15 to 24, presenting 13 performances. Double-show weekends have been added to accommodate increasing demand. The performance featured snowstorm effects, unique characters, and striking visuals in a non-verbal show that appealed to all ages. Created by Russian artist Slava Polunin, 'Slava's Snowshow' has been seen by more than 12 million people in more than 30 countries, from Broadway in New York to the West End in London. Architect Khalid Alhazani, vice president of the Riyadh Life Sector at the RCRC, said: 'We are pleased to bring 'Slava's Snowshow' to Riyadh as part of our commitment to introducing world-class cultural experiences to the Kingdom. Hosting internationally acclaimed performances creates valuable cultural moments for the community. 'This is a significant step toward Riyadh's goal of becoming a vibrant and creative capital, aligned with the ambitions of Vision 2030,' he added. Abdulaziz Awlia, a faculty member at the Department of Performing Arts, King Saud University, told Arab News: 'Bringing 'Slava's Snowshow' to Riyadh reflects a growing cultural awareness in Saudi Arabia and highlights the shift in the Kingdom's theatre scene toward international openness. 'The show introduces local audiences to new theatrical forms that go beyond dialogue and traditional storytelling. It uses visual language, movement, and silence to engage the audience emotionally. This is especially effective in a society with a strong oral heritage,' Awlia added. 'Performances like this can encourage Saudi theatre to grow by embracing experimentation and focusing on visual and poetic elements,' Awliya said. 'Slava's Snowshow' has received more than 25 international awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and a Tony Award nomination on Broadway. The production combines visual performance and physical comedy to take audiences through a theatrical experience rooted in imagination and nostalgia. It appeals to audiences of all ages with its focus on creativity and childlike wonder. Since its debut in 1993, the show has been performed thousands of times in hundreds of cities and dozens of countries. The production, which blends visual performance with elements of tragicomedy, has carved out a unique place in contemporary theatre. It has received numerous international honors, with recognition stretching from London and New York to Australia, Mexico, Paris, and Moscow.
