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One doesn’t have to be a Muslim to visit the mosque or see the tallest minaret in the world.
Many people who think of a vacation to Africa make plans with Morocco in mind, South Africa at times, maybe Kenya, and definitely Egypt—to see the famous pyramids—or the 4,100-mile-long river that gave birth to that momentous civilization. Yet, as a continent, Africa has 54 countries, almost as many as the number of states in the U.S. Though it may come as a surprise, almost all of these countries are safe and have nearly the same conveniences as those found in many First World countries. Take Algeria, for instance, the biggest country in Africa and more than three times the size of Texas. This northern African country has pyramids, just like Egypt, and several fascinating ruins that would interest any history buff or anyone who’s out for some real adventure.
The Great Mosque Of Algiers And Its Record-Breaking Minaret
Also known as Djamaa el Djazaïr, the Great Mosque of Algiers is itself a monumental structure and an architectural marvel in its own right. However, what really puts it in the Guinness Book of World Records is its minaret. The reason is that the Great Mosque of Algiers is noted for having the tallest minaret in the world. For those who may be scratching their heads, a minaret is a tower—or a tower-like structure—built into mosques primarily to project the “Adhan,” the Muslim call to prayer. Of course, today, minarets serve other purposes as well. For instance, they are important landmarks of Islamic presence. Coming to the minaret of the Great Mosque of Algiers, we would not be remiss to expect a structure described as the world’s tallest to answer to that exceptional description. Well, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Algiers is 265 meters tall and hence, by all accounts, impressive.
For perspective, that’s the same height as Truist Plaza, the 60-story skyscraper in downtown Atlanta or the Panorama Tower in Miami, Florida. It’s also about half the height of the One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States. Minarets, however, have never been this tall. Before the Great Mosque of Algiers secured a page in the Guinness Book of World Records for its minaret, the tallest minaret was the 670-feet tower of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. The Algiers minaret, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is now not just the tallest minaret in the world but the tallest building in Africa as well. This minaret is designed to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake, the highest earthquake magnitude. This type of earthquake can cause major damage over a region more than 1,000 km across.
Here’s A Brief History Of The Great Mosque Of Algiers And Its Minaret
The government of Algeria launched the construction of the Great Mosque and its record-breaking minaret in 2012. However, according to an adviser to the minister of housing responsible for the construction, the idea of constructing a mega-mosque had been in the cards from way back in 1962 when Algeria got its independence after 132 years of French occupation and after a 7-year brutal war that would send seismic revolutionary waves across the continent. For some reason, the efforts to put up a mega-mosque in Algiers had failed and foundered. However, with the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika as President of Algeria in 1999, the building efforts would soon receive significant impetus.
Famous for his religious zeal and devotion to Muslim art and culture, Bouteflika would, unsurprisingly, actualize the mega-mosque dream even though his tenure as president would dramatically come to a premature end before the completion of his pet project. The mosque, however, including its record-breaking minaret, was an outstanding architectural masterpiece. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Great Mosque of Algiers sits on an expansive area of around 400,000 square meters (about 50 acres). For perspective, the building itself, plus the outside courtyard, can seat up to 120,000 worshipers.
Other Reasons Why The Great Mosque of Algiers Is Worth Visiting (& How To Visit)
The mosque looks towards the scenic Bay of Algiers, which features dazzling white buildings and panoramic views as far as the eye can see. Part of the mosque is a library that can stock more than a million volumes. In addition, the mosque has a Koranic school and a museum of Islamic art and history.
Where Is The Great Mosque of Algiers Located? This mosque is located on the Rue de la Marine in Algeria’s capital city, Algiers.
A crucial travel tip is to get in as a worshiper, probably during worship. Some visitors even carry a prayer mat or wear a scarf, especially women. Of course, one doesn’t have to be a Muslim to visit the mosque or see the tallest minaret in the world.
The American Music Awards played host to a glittering showcase of Arab fashion this week as the likes of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Rowland, Becky G and Lauren Jauregui showed off gowns from Middle Eastern designers.
Country singer Underwood opted for a multi-hued dress by Lebanese Italian designer Tony Ward. With a plunging scooped neckline and playful fringed beading, the gown hailed from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection.
US singer and actress Rowland took things in a wilder direction with a leopard print sculptural gown by Lebanon’s Nicolas Jebran. The Rowland added black latex gloves for a dose of drama.
Meanwhile, US singer Becky G showed off an asymmetrical mini dress by Bahraini label Monsoori with a larger-than-life train and voluminous material draped on one shoulder.
For her part, US singer Lauren Jauregui, a member of Fifth Harmony, flaunted a floor-length number by designer Norma Kamali, who is partly of Lebanese descent. The heavily embroidered gown hailed from the designers Resort 2023 collection and featured tulip sleeves and a flared skirt.
Superstar singer and songwriter Taylor Swift won all six trophies she was contending for at Sunday night’s awards ceremony, including the artist of the year prize.
The new American Music Awards accolades lifted Swift’s lifetime total to 40, breaking her own record for most wins at the world’s largest fan-voted awards ceremony, Reuters reported.
The “Anti-Hero” singer said fan support in recent years had encouraged her to write more music, which made her happier.
“I have the fans to thank essentially for my happiness,” Swift said to a cheering crowd at the ceremony in Los Angeles.
Other honors for Swift on Sunday included favorite pop album, country album and video for her re-recording of 2012 record “Red.” The singer has been remaking albums from her past because of a dispute with her former record label.
For artist of the year, Swift triumphed over formidable names including Beyonce, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, Drake, Adele and Bad Bunny, who had gone into the night with a leading eight nominations.
Pop singer Pink opened the AMAs show dancing and singing on roller skates to her upbeat song “Never Gonna Not Dance Again.” Later in the ceremony, she performed “Hopelessly Devoted to You” in a tribute to Olivia Newton-John, the “Grease” singer who died in August.
Musician Lionel Richie, known for “All Night Long” and other 1980s hits, was celebrated with the AMA’s icon award. Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth performed a medley of Richie songs on dueling pianos.
It has been another big week for Arab designers, with a number of celebrities opting for Middle Eastern looks for the 2022 Governors Awards in Los Angeles.
Actress Jessica Chastain showed off a red hot Zuhair Murad look, while Elizabeth banks chose a sleek gown by Elie Saab.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Kelly Rowland wore a leopard print sculptural gown by Lebanon’s Nicolas Jebran. (AFP)
Tunisia’s prestigious industry event enjoys another successful year, helping spread a love of culture across the country.
Another week of movie magic, street art and music has come to an end following the 33rd edition of the International Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia.
Titled “Hel Thneya”, which means “Open the Path” in Tunisian dialect, the festival once again cemented its status as a major cultural attraction for visitors of all ages, who flocked to cinemas and filled the streets en masse.
The festival, one of the eldest and most prestigious in the Mena region, ended on Sunday.
As is tradition, the capital Tuniswas transformed into an open celebration of not only cinema but all forms of arts, with independent young painters getting the chance to show their artworks to the public for the first time and musicians performing every evening to audiences in the middle of Avenue Habib Bourguiba. For many, it was an opportunity to watch films that they don’t usually have the means or the opportunity to see.
Speaking outside the Theatre de Region Cinema, Downtown Tunis, Amina told The National she had been waiting for the festival to introduce her two children to the world of the cinema.
“As a family, we always discuss films together but we never find the time nor age-appropriate films to watch. This is a great opportunity to let them discover the big screen,” Amina said.
Amina’s daughter Ritej, who is in the sixth grade, was grinning with happiness as she prepared to enter the cinema hall. “I’m excited, I’m sure I’m going to enjoy this and tell my friends about it,” Ritej said.
Amina said that she often encourages her children to value the arts, with Ritej currently rehearsing for a school play, and she wishes there were more events like it in Tunisia.
This year’s International festival was an opportunity to revive the city. According to organisers, the festival aimed to showcase both new cinema productions and also timeless films that the younger generations needed to be introduced to.
This year, 72 countries participated with Saudi Arabia being the guest of honour and special emphasis placed on Palestinian and Spanish Cinema — a choice that organisers said highlighted the intersection between north and south, placing migration under an artistic lens.
The festival also paid tribute to Arab filmmakers, both living and dead, namely the Moroccan director Mohamed Abderrahmen Tazi and Egyptian director Daoud Abdel Sayed, as well as the late Algerian director Yamina Chouikh and late Tunisian director Kalthoum Bornaz.
“Through this 33rd edition, we continued to foster cultural decentralisation by bringing new sections to the festival and programming screenings in different parts of the country,” journalist and cinema critic Yosra Chikhaoui told The National.
“This year marks the first edition of JCC for kids. We are bringing more screenings as part of our “street cinema” section as well as continuing the special screenings for prisoners and members of the Tunisian army inside military bases,” Chikhaoui, who is a member of the festival’s media committee, added.
JCC in Prisons, now in its eighth year,is the fruit of a partnership between the Tunisian Ministries of Culture and Justice and the International Organisation Against Torture. This year, 12 films were showcased in three prison facilities, while juvenile detainees were transferred to Tunis for a special showcase in a cinema.
According to Ridha Behi, general director of this year’s festival, film screenings in prisons serve as a reminder of the right all people have to access and experience culture.
Awards, meanwhile, highlighted the multitude and variety on show, with a focus on filmmakers whose work depicts the struggles of their respective societies.
The Tanit d’Or award for best feature film was given to Tug of War, directed by Amil Shivji — marking the first time a film from Tanzania has won the award. Meanwhile, the Tanit d’Argent and Tanit de Bronze were respectively awarded to the films Under the Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri from Tunisia and Sharaf by Samir Nasr from Egypt
Made of polymer using innovative designs and advanced security features, the banknote is the fourth in the Third Issuance of the National Currency Project, the Central Bank said.
The banknote will be available in Central Bank branches and ATMs in the first half of 2023, while the current Dh1,000 note will continue to be in circulation.
The front side of the banknote depicts the image of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan next to a model of a space shuttle. This was inspired by the meeting of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan with the pioneers of the American space agency NASA in 1976 to express the ambitions of the founding leader to position the UAE amongst the pioneering explorers of the space.
This ambition was achieved in the Emirates Mars Mission ‘Hope Probe’ journey in 2021, and it was embodied in the new banknote by placing the image entitled “Emirates Mission to Explore Mars – the Hope Probe” at the top of the banknote, left of late Sheikh Zayed image.
This dream was also reflected in the image of an astronaut added as a security mark that appears on both sides of the banknote, to express the arrival of the first Emirati astronaut to the space.
The Central Bank was also keen to focus on another global achievement for the UAE, by placing an image of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi on the reverse. The plant will play a key role in diversifying energy sources in the country and reduce carbon emissions.
The design of this new banknote contains distinctive aesthetic characteristics, with different shades of brown. The CBUAE preserved the colour characteristics of the same denomination banknote currently in circulation to make it easy for the public to identify, in addition to the fluorescent blue marks of the UAE nation brand in the centre, and drawings and inscriptions created using advanced intaglio printing techniques.
Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, said: “The issuance of the new Dh1,000 banknote comes under the vision of UAE’s President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to keep-up with the comprehensive development our country is witnessing, and represent UAE’s global achievements and successes, as well as highlight its future ambitions in various sectors.”
Over 1,200 years old, and after facing extreme neglect for decades, the Basatin Jewish Cemetery finally reopens.
The Basatin Jewish Cemetery – the second oldest Jewish cemetery in the world, and one of Cairo’s few remaining Jewish cemeteries – has undergone extensive renovations and opened its doors once more.
With a foundation dating to the 9th century during Egypt’s Tulunid Dynasty, the 147 acres of land designated for the cemetery at the time included separate areas for Rabbanite and Karaite Jews and extended beyond the Tulunid capital of Egypt.
In more recent times, allegedly during the reign of Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay in 1482, the cemetery was divided into separate pieces of property totaling roughly 27 acres. These plots include the Basatin graveyard’s common burial grounds, the private Mosseri family cemetery, Rav Haim Capusi’s grave, the private Moise Cattaui Pasha cemetery, and the remaining Karaite section of the original cemetery.
Over the past three years, the American Research Centre in Egypt and the United States’ Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and Drop of Milk Foundation have been working to restore the neglected cultural and religious heritage site.
After the completion of the conservation project, members of the Karaite Jewish community – known for exclusively respecting the principles of the Torah and disowning oral traditions like the Talmud and other writings of the Rabbis – from various nations attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and were able to revisit their families’ graves for the first time in decades.
Saudi Arabia was first vice-chair of the executive council for 2022.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism has announced the election of the Kingdom as chair of the executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization for 2023.
The announcement was made at the 117th session of the organisation’s executive council being held in Marrakesh, making the Kingdom the first Gulf country to hold the post.
“The Kingdom is honored to be elected as chair of the World Tourism Organization’s executive council and we believe in the importance of the organization’s pioneering role. We look forward to cooperating with all countries to support and develop the global tourism sector,” the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said.
He added that the Kingdom has been an active member of the organization by launching initiatives, supporting new ideas, and opening the organization’s first regional office in Saudi Arabia to promote its agenda and work in the Middle East and beyond.
“At the heart of the UNWTO is a desire to promote tourism as a catalyst of economic development, which Saudi Arabia wholeheartedly supports. We have committed $800 billion of government investment into the Saudi tourism industry by 2030.
“Our imperative is that the development we seek, both as a nation and globally, is sustainable, inclusive and resilient. That’s how we will address the fast-changing needs of businesses, communities and the planet,” Al-Khateeb said.
As chair, Saudi Arabia will set the agenda for all meetings, ensuring that it captures the most pressing issues and concerns for the tourism industry. It will facilitate and moderate meetings effectively, chair dialogue and encourage actionable outcomes.
With a strong determination to help women’s inclusion in the mining industry, Bensetti has a strong belief in women’s ability to defy norms and pursue a career in any industry.
Women in Mining UK, an NGO dedicated to supporting women in the mining sector, selected CEO of OCP subsidiary DOOC Ibtissam Bensetti to feature in the 2022 “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” (WIM100) in recognition of her contributions to the global mining industry.
With this nomination, Bensetti became the first OCP personnel and Moroccan national to feature in the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining.
The NGO’s global top 100 list celebrates women’s contribution to the mining industry at all levels. The biennial publication stresses women’s skills and expertise in the global mining industry and celebrates role models for future generations.
Women inclusion in mining
The organization selects nominees based on different criteria, including creative innovation and sustainable working.
“A WIM100 woman offers proactive advocacy to those working in the mining industry and beyond. She empowers her colleagues to ensure everyone feels heard, welcomed, and respected,” the NGO said.
Bensetti has been able to take her place in the WIM100 for her leadership in OCP as a CEO at the group’s subsidiary DOOC, which specializes in industrial operations consulting, safety, and sustainability.
Having joined OCP in 2012, Bensetti has more than a decade of experience in the mining industry at different levels, particularly in sustainability roles in mining and chemical industrial operations, as well as corporate development.
Carrying the spirit of women’s empowerment during her journey, Bensetti has been working on spreading that spirit among her team members, particularly women, through supporting OCP’s female talent as well as increasing the number of women in management.
Delighted to be part of the WIM100 list, Bensetti stressed her emphasis and belief in women’s talents.
“In my mind, there is no impenetrable fortress for women, women can defy the norms and pursue a career in any industry,” she said, conveying her encouragement and endorsement for the inclusion of women in the mining industry.
The CEO acknowledged that the industry might have been a male-dominated industry but claimed that that’s in the past thanks to global efforts seeking to ensure gender equality at different levels. Women make up between 8% and 17 % of the global mining workforce, a McKinsey report has found.
The report also identified, however, several reasons and challenges that prompt women’s exit from the industry.
“The top reasons for leaving the industry are feeling that work is no longer intellectually challenging and having the perception that there are fewer advancement opportunities than there are for their male colleagues,” the report stressed.
Appointment and education
Bensetti was appointed as CEO of DOOC in June 2021 to replace Hamid El Mahfoudi, who retired.
She joined OCP a decade ago, filling positions related to strategy, corporate development, and industrial operations.
Graduating from Telecom Paris in 2004, Bensetti amassed 18 years of experience in management consulting, industry managing, coaching, and leading teams in transformation journeys.
Bensetti is also a graduate of The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s LEAP Program, a one-year sustainability training program that seeks to empower women and help advance their positions and careers.
Having gender equality as a center of focus during her career, Bensetti is determined to continue her battle to help empower women in the mining industry.
“Being a woman engineer in industry, I have been fighting this battle all my life,” she wrote on her LinkedIn bio.
Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, honoured the winners of the Women in Tech MENA Awards, during a ceremony held in partnership between the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) and Women in Tech.
The award, which is one of seven regional awards covering various areas of the globe, celebrates talented women from around the world who innovate, inspire and transform the technology sector.
Held under the theme, “Women in Green”, the event was attended by Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of STRIP, and several leading experts, entrepreneurs and the award’s female nominees.
The awards were introduced by Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of Women in Tech, who affirmed the need to increase the presence of women in technology.
The eight winners were:
-The Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative in the Most Impactful Initiative Award;
-Fatma Atawna, CEO of Siraj in the Best Ally Award;
-Aida Kandil, CEO of MyTindy in the Start-up Award;
-Wesam Sarhan, Co-Founder of Colibri Care in the ID and E Disruptor’s Award;
-Mirna Arif, Country General Manager of Microsoft in the Global Leadership Award;
-Dr. Fatmah Boothman, Associate Professor at the King AbdulAziz University in the Lifetime Achievement Award;
-Amna Usman Choudhry, Financial Economist and Strategist for Blockchain at Metaverse and Web 3.0 in the Woman in Web3 Award
– Uditi Sharma, Founder and Executive Director in the Aspiring Teen Award.
Al Roumi highlighted the key role of women in shaping the future of technology, noting that the UAE has devoted significant attention to empowering women to actively engage in shaping the future of vital sectors, especially the technology sector.
She also highlighted the UAE’s pioneering experience in empowering Emirati women in technology, as they account for 56 percent of Emirati government university graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Al Roumi added that the Women in Tech Award recognises women who lead the technology sector and inspires other women to actively participate in this vital sector, stressing that the partnership between the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park and Women in Tech is a leading model of global partnerships aimed at encouraging women to participate in various fields of technology.
She also congratulated the winners of the award’s eight categories and commended their achievements, which reflect the overall capacities of women and inspires other women to strive for excellence in the technology sector.
In his welcome address, Al Mahmoudi said, “Hosting the Women in Tech MENA Awards is a milestone moment for us, because it reflects our deep commitment to gender equity and women’s empowerment. We are happy to say that more than 50 percent of the SRTIP workforce are women, some holding senior positions in technology, engineering and labs. Our commitment is also evident in our scheme for women entrepreneurs at SRTIP, under which we grant them subsidies and special benefits.”
“To make the Women in Tech MENA Awards a memorable event, we have lined up high-profile speakers who will enhance the prestige of the event with their insights and shared experiences. The keynotes and panels will offer a rich harvest of ideas, which would go a long way in promoting women’s empowerment in the UAE and the region,” he added.
Panel discussions held before the presentation of the awards provided interesting insights into the role of women in technology. The panel on “Gender equity and climate change, an intersectional approach to sustainability” explored how women and other underserved groups are disproportionately impacted by the global climate crisis, and are uniquely positioned to help achieve sustainability. The panel’s participants were Nadia Mannell, General Partner at Seed South Capital; Geraldine Wessing, Chief Political Analyst at Shell; Cecelia Carlsward, Founding Partner at Violet Hill and Co, and Tatiana Abella, Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook FZE.
A second panel on “Driving inclusion through innovation” discussed how the MENA region is driving innovation while considering human diversity and building inclusive economies.
Rare first-edition copy of “Prehistoric Rock Art of Northern Saudi Arabia” was on sale at Sharjah International Book Fair
There was little or no recognition of the Kingdom’s ancient past before Majeed Khan’s book was published in 1993
In May 1976, Majeed Khan, a young graduate of the University of Sindh, Pakistan, traveled to Saudi Arabia to join the Ministry of Tourism as an archaeological consultant, advising on the development of museums and the conduct of archaeological investigations in the country.
It was to prove an inspired appointment.
Back then, with Saudi Arabia riding the wave of the first great oil boom and focused necessarily on its rapidly evolving future, archaeology in the Kingdom was in its infancy.
But in Khan the country had found a champion for one of its greatest heritage treasures — ancient rock art, thousands of examples of which are strewn across the landscape and which attest to a history of human culture that stretches back 10,000 years.
Khan, who lives in Riyadh, and at the age of 80 still works as a consultant to the Ministry of Culture’s Antiquities Department, has devoted his entire working life to a subject that continues to fascinate and surprise him to this day.
He received another surprise last month when he learned that his seminal book, “Prehistoric Rock Art of Northern Saudi Arabia,” published by the Saudi Ministry of Education’s Department of Antiquities and Museums in 1993, was now considered a collector’s item.
A first-edition copy was offered for sale for £1,250 ($1,448) by a specialist London book dealer at the UAE’s Sharjah International Book Fair, which ran from Nov. 2 to 13.
That, Khan felt, was a lot of money. But on the other hand, “it was the first research book on rock art published in any Arab country,” he said. At the time it came out, “there was no rock art taught in any Saudi university and no real rock art research in Saudi Arabia.”
Furthermore, there was little or no recognition in the wider world of Saudi Arabia’s ancient past — a past that is now being embraced enthusiastically as the backbone of major tourism projects, such as AlUla and Diriyah, designed to bring in millions of visitors a year to the Kingdom.
For example, in the supposedly comprehensive 1998 Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art, published in 1998, there was not a single mention of Saudi Arabia — an oversight that would be dramatically exposed by Khan’s work.
To describe Khan as a pioneer in his field is to understate the impact he has had on the understanding of the extent and importance of the ancient past of the Kingdom.
Over the past four decades he has published dozens of research papers. The first, which he co-authored, was on “The Lower Miocene Fauna of Assarrar, Eastern Arabia,” published in Atlal, the Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, in 1981.
His first book, which came out in 1993, shortly before his groundbreaking work on the prehistoric rock art of Saudi Arabia, was “The Origin and Evolution of Ancient Arabian Inscriptions,” also published by the Ministry of Education.
But it was to petroglyphs that he would devote the greater part of his energies, an academic commitment that in 2015 culminated in the rock art in the Hail region of Saudi Arabia being inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Along with two colleagues from the then-named Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Jamal Omar and vice-president Prof. Ali Al-Ghabban, it was Khan’s name that appeared on the nomination text that saw the twin sites near Jubbah and Shuwaymis in the northern province of Hail recognized by UNESCO as being of “outstanding universal value.”
As Khan told Arab News in January 2021, “it was for me the most emotional moment of my 40 years of research.”
Not that he is resting on his laurels. Hail is not the only region in Saudi Arabia where rock art can be found, and “these days I am working on the rock-art site of Hima, Najran, to see it, too, placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”
There are more than 2,000 rock-art sites around Saudi Arabia. But the greatest concentration of Neolithic petroglyphs, or rock carvings, and the oldest known examples, dating back 10,000 years, is to be found in the north of the country at two sites 300 kilometers apart in the Hail Province.
The ancient forebears of today’s Saudis had no paper, pens, or written language with which to record their time on earth.
But with the rocks of their dramatic landscapes as their canvas, thousands of years ago the ancient peoples of the land that would become Saudi Arabia found a way to leave their mark on history, with an astonishing pictorial representation of a now forgotten world, painstakingly pecked, chiseled and engraved out of the sandstone rocks of the region.
The first of the two Hail sites is at Jabal Umm Sinman, a rocky outcrop to the west of the town of Jubbah, some 90 kilometers northwest of the city of Hail and 680 kilometers from the capital, Riyadh.
The town’s origins date back to the dawn of Arab civilization, when the hills of Umm Sinman overlooked a freshwater lake, which eventually would be lost beneath the sands of the surrounding Nefud desert some 6,000 years ago.
It was on these hills, in the words of the UNESCO nomination document co-authored by Khan, that the ancestors of today’s Saudi Arabians “left the marks of their presence, their religions, social, cultural, intellectual and philosophical perspectives of their beliefs about life and death, metaphysical and cosmological ideologies.”
The rock art of Jubbah, said Khan, “represented all phases of human presence from the Neolithic, 10,000 years before the present, until the recent past,” and reflected a time when the climate and landscape were very different from today.
Etched upon the rocks, often at mysteriously inaccessible heights, are the trappings of a lost world: A parade of dancers, long-forgotten gods and goddesses, mythological figures, half-human, half-beast, and animals including sheep, ibex, camels, horses, wolves, ostriches and — reflecting a time when prey roamed abundant on the once lush plains of Arabia — lions.
“The type of animals (pictured) suggested changes in climate and environment,” said Khan. “Large ox figures indicated a cool and humid climate, while the absence of ox figures and the appearance of camel petroglyphs represented hot and dry conditions..
“Both at Jubbah and Shuwaymis this change in fauna and flora clearly represented gradual but drastic change in society and climate in the prehistoric and pre-Islamic era.”
Importantly, he said, similarities in themes and depictions in other parts of the world, including Africa, India, Australia, Europe and America, showed that “Saudi Arabia was part of world heritage and cultural traditions.”
Like other peoples around the world, “ancient Arab artists were drawing the animals with which they were living and depicting their social activities, like dancing and religious rituals.”
The second of the twin Hail sites is at Jabal Al-Manjor and Raat, 220 kilometers southwest of Jubbah near the village of Shuwaymis. Remarkably, its treasures were discovered only 20 years ago, a remarkable story in which, naturally, Khan played a leading role.
In 2002, Aramco World, the magazine of the Saudi national oil company, reported that in March the previous year a bedouin grazing his camels had stumbled on strange marks on a remote cluster of rocks. He happened to mention his find to a teacher from the local town of Shuwaymis. He alerted the authorities and they called in Khan.
“Yes, the story is correct,” Khan said. “I met both the bedouin and Mr. Saad Rawsan, the director of archaeology in the Hail region, who took us to the sites for further investigations and research.”
Together, he discovered, the twin sites told the story of over 9,000 years of human history, from the earliest pictorial records of hunting to the development of writing, religion and the domestication of animals including cattle, horses and camels.
As the UNESCO documents record, these sites justify their inscription on the World Heritage List because they feature “large numbers of petroglyphs of exceptional quality attributed to between 6,000 and 9,000 years of human history, followed in the last 3,000 years by very early development of writing that reflects the bedouin culture, ending in Qur’anic verses.”
Furthermore, the Jubbah and Shuwaymis sites comprise “the world’s largest and most magnificent surviving corpus of Neolithic petroglyphs.”
Neolithic rock art is found at many locations across Eurasia and North Africa, “but nowhere in such dense concentration or with such consistently high visual quality” as in this remote part of northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Peter Harrington, the London specialist book dealer that brought Khan’s book to Sharjah for the book fair, described it as “a pioneering monograph … the first and sole edition of this seminal work, which addresses a hitherto neglected subject, challenges the received wisdom that influences in rock art in the region originated from Mesopotamia, the Levant, and the Nile Valley, helped to put the Kingdom’s ancient past on the map of modern knowledge, and paved the way to the listing in 2015 of the rock art of the Hail region as a UNESCO World Heritage site.”
“I am extremely surprised to see the cost of my book,” Khan said after Arab News broke the news to him of the price being asked for the out-of-print volume at the Sharjah International Book Fair, although he had some news of his own.
“The ministry is printing it again.”
That, however, is unlikely to prove a deterrent for collectors always keen to snap up rare first editions of books dealing with the region’s history — and there are few histories as fascinating as that of the rock art of Saudi Arabia, and few books as significant in the growing appreciation of the Kingdom’s past as Khan’s 30-year-old volume.
At least eight Somali American women won races in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, results show.
Ilhan Omar, the most prominent Somali American politician, held on to her U.S. House of Representatives seat in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. This will be the third term for Omar, who was first elected in 2018.
In Minnesota state races, Zaynab Mohamed was elected to the Senate, becoming the first woman of Somali descent elected to the chamber, according to MPR News. Meanwhile, Hodan Hassan defended her seat in the state House of Representatives.
Other Somali American women running for offices in Minnesota were victorious, including Fathia Feerayarre, who won a seat on the Minneapolis Public Schools board.
In neighboring North Dakota, Hamida Dakane also made history, becoming the first woman of Somali descent elected to the state House. Born in northeastern Kenya’s Somali region, Dakane, who won Fargo’s District 10, came to the U.S. in 2011.
In Maine, Deqa Dhalac, who made history last year as the first Somali American mayor for a U.S. city, South Portland, has now been elected to the state House after handily defeating Republican opponent Michael Dougherty. Mana Abdi, who was running unopposed for a seat representing Lewiston, Maine, joins her in the House.
In Ohio, Munira Abdullahi and Ismail Mohamed, a man, won seats in the state House. Minnesota and Ohio have among the largest Somali American populations in the U.S.
Speaking to her supporters Tuesday night, Omar highlighted the significance of victories achieved by Somali American women.
“There was a time when we believed that women with a hijab could not get elected,” she said. “Tonight, Minnesota is electing three new women who are wearing hijab. That shows if you trust in yourself, if your people trust you, stand with you, everything is possible.”
Mohamed, one of the hijab-wearing Minnesota winners, expressed hope that more Somali Americans will run for office.
“I’m very happy with this victory tonight, thank God,” she told VOA Somali. “This is a victory for me, for my family and for the Somali people. God willing, a lot of men and women will follow me and will come through.”
Shukri Olow, who lost a state House seat outside Seattle, Washington, told VOA Somali that she was inspired to run by the women before her, including Omar, Hassan and Dhalac.
In an interview with VOA Somali, Dhalac confirmed that when she visited Washington in 2018, Olow asked her questions about running for office.
“She said she wanted to run for the open seats in her area or seats that will be open in the future in Washington state,” Dhalac recounted. “I encouraged her to do it. Many women say we will do this, we will do this tomorrow, we will do this next year. I said to her, if you want to compete, just do it.”
The success of Somali American female candidates in the U.S. eclipses that of female aspirants for elected office in Somalia.
Female politicians in Somalia are so disenfranchised that in 2016, Somalia’s federal and regional leaders had to start allocating a specific quota of seats in parliament. But women still were never given the opportunity to get the 30% quota promised.
In 2016, Somali women occupied 24% of the 329 seats in the two houses of parliament. In 2022, female candidates secured only 20%, well short of the 30% quota.
Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam, the only female presidential candidate in the May 15 presidential election, got just a single vote — her own.
“I did not get the support I’m sure [Somali American women] are getting when they stand [for office], because here the culture and other factors are causing a lack of encouragement [for women],” she said.
Adam welcomed the success of Somali American women.
“This is a victory for Somali women in the diaspora,” she said. “I congratulate them, I encourage them, and we are proud of them.”
She said women in the diaspora, including those in the United States, Europe, and Canada, have opportunities that women in Somalia do not have.
“What made it possible is, first, the places they live in, where men and women are viewed equally, where they get encouragement from the schools, from the university, and from the parents, and they can see achievements by other women,” she said.
“Over there, the neighborhood they live in is going to elect them when they see the person is trustworthy, honest, working and clean. White and Black would vote for that.”
Harun Maruf contributed reporting from Washington.
source/content: voanews.com (headline edited)
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Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar speaks to supporters at an election night party after winning reelection early Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, 2022, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
