Spectacular ‘cultural park’ opens on Jeddah’s waterfront

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The largest cultural park on the new Jeddah waterfront. (Photo courtesy: Jeddah Municipality Twitter account)
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(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)
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(AN photo by Huda Bashatah)
Updated 17 January 2018
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Spectacular ‘cultural park’ opens on Jeddah’s waterfront

JEDDAH: Events at the cultural park in Nawras Square on the new waterfront are continuing during the mid-year school holiday, offering a variety of cultural, educational and entertainment activities for families.
The cultural park is one of the initiatives of the Jeddah municipality through the Makkah Cultural Forum with the participation of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, King Abdul Aziz University, the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and Jeddah Islamic Port.
Mohammad Al-Bugami, public relations director for the Jeddah municipality, told Arab News: “The main aim is to provide Jeddah residents and visitors with entertainment through awareness-raising recreational programs. It is a widely diverse and inclusive event.
“The activities include a theater, children’s actives, a library for readers, health awareness activities and more. I believe that people’s turnout explains their satisfaction.”
Activities and booths organized by the participating bodies and ministries are about interactive education, scientific innovations, and health awareness such as the skills festival to promote youths’ crafting skills; “Your health is our interest” to provide health and awareness services; the “wheel life” exhibition to educate society about the life of people with disabilities; and robot world.
Moreover, the cultural park will continue until Saturday Jan. 20. Programs and performances throughout the days start from 5 p.m. and run until 10 p.m.

Jeddah Entertainment Boulevard
Events at the new waterfront in Jeddah continue for the sixth day, organized by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The events started Jan. 11 and will continue until Jan. 20.
The events of Jeddah Boulevard are supported by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the GEA; it was organized by Luxury KSA, which has organized 45 events all over the Kingdom.
Admission is free of charge, and activities start at 4 p.m., while the shows start at 6 p.m. and end by 11 p.m.
The event includes six stages such as the Spanish stage, the sailor’s stage, and the big stage, and each provides a different activity.
The big stage presents a wonderful violin performance of well-known songs such as “Despacito” and many famous Arabic tunes.
While walking through the newly opened waterfront area, you will find a variety of 10 activities such as food trucks, games for children and a circus show.
Jumana Al-Qurachi, an architecture student from Effat University, told Arab News: “I am really thrilled to be here; I really cannot believe what am seeing — it is so much fun!”
Amal Al-Thubiti, a 23-year-old psychologist who attended the show, said: “I am really amazed we have such shows here in Saudi Arabia and am looking forward to concerts here of international stars.”
Mohammed Sindi, one of the organizers from Luxury KSA, told Arab News: “The event is held on a one-square-kilometer space that can accommodate 400,000 people. We have over 100 booths, 16 food trucks, breakdance shows, Spanish dancing performers and there are 600 organizers to help keep this event a success; we have police everywhere to make sure everyone is safe.”


Over 4.8m captagon pills found hidden in Jeddah charcoal shipment

Updated 5 sec ago
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Over 4.8m captagon pills found hidden in Jeddah charcoal shipment

  • Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant that is mass-produced in illicit factories

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 4.8 million captagon pills through Jeddah’s port, hidden inside a shipment of charcoal.

The authority’s spokesperson Hamoud Al-Harbi said that a shipment arrived at the port, which, after being assessed by customs authorities, was found to contain a large amount of the illicit drug, hidden inside charcoal bags, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

After the pills were seized, the authority coordinated with the General Directorate of Narcotics Control to ensure that the intended recipients were arrested.

Al-Harbi added that ZATCA is working to tighten customs control on Saudi imports and exports and stands ready to combat smuggling.

He called on members of the public to contribute to the fight against smuggling.

ZATCA may be contacted for security reports by phone from inside the Kingdom at 1910, outside the Kingdom at +9661910, or by email at [email protected].

The authority receives reports related to smuggling crimes and violations of the customs system in complete confidentiality and offers financial rewards to any reports that are accurate.

Captagon is an addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant that is mass-produced in illicit factories.

It is simple to produce compared to other narcotics, and drug smugglers have found a market for the substance in the Gulf states.

Syria under Bashar Assad was one of the largest producers of captagon in the region.

When his government was overthrown in December 2024, one of the first steps taken by the new President Ahmed Al-Sharaa was to crack down on the production of captagon in Syria.