[gallery td_select_gallery_slide="slide" size="medium" td_gallery_title_input="Al-Harah Al-Makiyah" ids="27590,27587,27588,27586,27589"] Badea Abu Al-Naja THE third Al-Harah Al-Makiyah Festival launched will end on Saturday. Makkah Municipality Social Services General Director and supervisor of the festival Mohammad Faqih said the municipality is organizing the festival, which opened on Thursday. "We have provided parking spaces for all visitors. The number of visitors has been overwhelming to the point that people are parking on the highway between Makkah and Jeddah. Participants are offered free parking and kiosks," said Faqih. He said the festival contains cultural merchandises produced by Productive Families and cultural foods and sweets prepared by local residents of Makkah. "Visitors will get a taste of cultural and traditional dishes such as maasoub, beans and tamis, ladou, labaniyah and tahini. Visitors will also hear the sayings and tunes of old Makkah and its alleys. They will also get to smell the aroma of traditional scents and perfumes," said Faqih. He said the festival was a platform for important social issues and campaigns such as health care. "There are volunteers from medical colleges present at the festival to offer early checkups for diabetes and blood pressure. The festival also had shows and performances such as the skating show. There are activities for children such as face painting," said Faqih. A volunteering group called Ihdaa Volunteering Group gives out coffee, tea, water and Makkawi traditional sweets for free. "The municipality produced two short documentaries. The first documentary is 12 minutes long and it retells the traditions and customs of the people of Makkah. The second documentary is 30 minutes long and it retells how Haj was performed during the reign of the Kingdom's founder King Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on his soul)," said Faqih. He said the two documentaries are shown consecutively on a large screen TV. "There is also the Makkawi House corner where people can see Makkawi furniture such as the mayor's markaz. It is the most visited part of the festival. Productive Families were able to profit a lot from the festival as we gave them kiosks and tables free of charge," said Faqih.
