The Janadriyah festival highlighted the rich Saudi traditions, heritage and the exotic aura of desert life. (SPA)

A record 1.15 million people including expatriates visited the high-profile Janadriyah Heritage and Culture Festival which successfully ended Friday night.

The 18-day long festival was inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Feb. 3 with Germany as the guest country.

“This 30th Janadriyah festival showcased the rich Saudi traditions, heritage and the exotic aura of desert life,” Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, minister of National Guard, said in a statement.

He thanked King Salman for “his support and patronage,” while expressing his appreciation for a number of government agencies and private organizations for their invaluable contributions in organizing the fest.

Speaking about the large number of men, women and children, who visited the festival, Gen.Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Zamil, a commander working for the security wing of the National Guard, said that “the participating booths were packed with visitors, and all booths offered fully integrated services supervised by the Ministry of National Guard in coordination with other government agencies.”

There was a dizzying array of exhibitions this year including various styles of bridal attire, ancient hunting weapons, farming tools and folk songs as well as dancing and drama.

Describing it as “an enormous success and a great honor” for Germany to have been chosen as the guest country for the 30th edition of the prestigious festival, German Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Ohnmacht said: “It is a recognition of the excellent state of our bilateral relations to be a special guest for the most outstanding cultural festival in Saudi Arabia.”

The Janadriyah festival highlighted the rich Saudi traditions, heritage and the exotic aura of desert life. (SPA)

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