Thai festival brings eruption of color and music to Riyadh

RIYADH: Hidden in the creek of Al-Tharwa Mountain, south of King Fahd Park in the Najran region, lies a living archive that tells the story of early Islamic art.

The mountain’s rocky features abound with prominent archaeological evidence of Islamic calligraphy in its earliest stages.

The rocks preserve rare Islamic inscriptions that serve as a historic record reflecting the ancient past and the richness of the Islamic civilization.

These inscriptions represent the precision and beauty of early Islamic art and calligraphy, revealing a significant transitional phase in the history of Arabic art and scripts.

This transforms Al-Tharwa Mountain into an open-air museum which narrates chapters from the beginnings of Islamic civilization.

Dr. Salem bin Ahmad bin Tairan, professor of Semitic languages, ancient writings, and archaeology at King Saud University, said: “Islamic inscriptions are an important and fundamental source for studying Islamic history and civilization.

“Najran abounds with a large number of such inscriptions dating back to the early Islamic period.

“Through the archaeological survey of inscriptions and ancient writings in the region, more than 200 Kufic Islamic inscriptions have been identified and documented across several sites, most notably Al-Tharwa Mountain in Saqam, south of Wadi Najran, where 33 Islamic inscriptions were found, 26 of which belong to members of a single family.”

Although these inscriptions are undated, the style of the script and the names of the individuals mentioned indicate that they date back to the second and third centuries AH.

Most of these inscriptions contain religious phrases and prayers, expressing belief in death, trust in God, monotheism, and blessings upon the Prophet, along with the signatures of their authors.

Abdullah Al-Suqour, a member of the Najran Tourist Club and a certified tour guide, explained that Al-Tharwa Mountain is considered an important archaeological and tourism landmark because of the historic evidence it contains, confirming the significance of early Islamic inscriptions which are distinguished by their beauty, organization, and precise linguistic structures.

He noted that among these inscriptions are some written by women, who engraved their names on the mountain’s rocks in commemorative and religious phrases — a sign of a civilized period in which education spread to all segments of society.

Al-Suqour added that Al-Tharwa Mountain is a prominent cultural destination which holds a rich cultural heritage of early Islamic inscriptions.

These archaeological treasures adorn the mountain, standing as some of the rarest evidence of the early development of engraving and Islamic calligraphy in the southern Arabian Peninsula.

RIYADH: The inaugural MADE Design Forum, organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, began on Thursday in Jeddah, within the Islamic Arts Biennale Cultural Program building, in the West Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport.

The forum, which will run until May 4, is a celebration of the design industry, opening a lively space where the lines of art, engineering and crafts intersect, SPA reported.

It brings together an elite group of designers, artists and independent makers from the Arab world and beyond, to showcase works that pulse with the spirit of experimentation and redefine the relationship between humans and materials.

Visitors wander among pieces that carry stories in their details: Furniture woven with memory, ceramics that speak silence, textiles that weave the future and vital materials that draw from nature and return to it.

Every corner of the forum incites the eye to contemplate and stimulates the mind to question, SPA reported.

MADE opens the doors of thought through lectures, workshops and dialogue sessions that delve into the depths of design in terms of values, connotations and ethical practices.

It raises questions about the meaning of innovation, the role of crafts in shaping identity and the position of the designer as a cultural actor in a changing era, SPA reported.

The exhibition represents an extension of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation’s vision, which embraces support for creative expression in all its manifestations and seeks to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a cultural hub that pulsates with dialogue, embraces creators and exports beauty to the world with authentic Saudi vocabulary and a universal spirit.