GAZA CITY: For Mohammed Talib and his mother, their dream of performing Hajj has become a reality, thanks to the generosity of Saudi Arabia’s leadership.
After years of waiting, the pair were selected for the pilgrimage as part of King Salman’s hosting of 1,000 families of Palestinian martyrs.
Talib, whose father Adnan was killed in an Israeli air strike in 2006 while driving an ambulance, said: “If it were not for this offer, we would not have been able to perform Hajj because of the high fees and financial costs for the Palestinian pilgrims, and the deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.”
The initiative began in 2001, with the goal of allowing thousands of pilgrims to perform Hajj, annually divided between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Suspended in 2006 and revived again in 2008, the selection process of the martyrs’ families is based on seniority covering those killed after the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Since 2011 a total of 1,000 pilgrims a year have benefitted from the royal award.
However, even when selected, some relatives still struggle to pay the 800 Jordanian dinars (SR4,230) per person demanded by the Palestinian authorities toward trip costs. The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs raised the fees for ordinary pilgrims this year to about JOD2,790, up more than 300 dinars from last season, which sparked a wave of anger among pilgrims.
Agricultural worker Nabil Turbani suggested that the Palestinian authorities should exempt struggling families from having to pay the fees. He said a lack of employment opportunities meant he and his family had to live on social welfare assistance.
Secretary-general of the national committee for the martyrs’ families in Gaza, Maher Badawi, said there was controversy surrounding Hajj fees not only for regular pilgrims but those specially selected by Saudi Arabia.
He said most martyrs’ families suffered under difficult economic and living conditions, and some had decided not to perform Hajj because of the restrictive travel costs between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Spokesman for the national committee of the martyrs’ families, Alaa Al-Barawi, said that each of the 1,000 people selected could travel with another family member. He added that Gaza granted 20 places to people living in Egypt, and the West Bank gave some of its share to the families of martyrs in Jordan and Lebanon.
He said this year’s quota reflected the high number of loses in Gaza and the West Bank due to Israeli attacks in recent years. In 2009, Saudi Arabia increased to 4,000 the number of beneficiaries of the honor of the Palestinian martyrs’ families because of the casualties of war.
Al-Barawi praised the Kingdom’s role as the biggest supporter of the Palestinian cause and the relatives of martyrs.
Families of Palestinian martyrs given royal Hajj award hit by rise in travel fees
Families of Palestinian martyrs given royal Hajj award hit by rise in travel fees
- Talib: If it were not for this offer, we would not have been able to perform Hajj because of the high fees and financial costs for the Palestinian pilgrims, and the deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip
- Al-Barawi praised the Kingdom’s role as the biggest supporter of the Palestinian cause and the relatives of martyrs
Is sourdough Saudi Arabia’s latest craft food?
- Saudi home bakers point to a practice that was once routine, not artisanal
- Naturally fermented bread reflects a broader shift toward process-driven, premium food culture
ALKHOBAR: Sourdough has started to shift from a niche interest into a mainstream feature of home kitchens, cafes and specialty bakeries across the Kingdom.
The rise of sourdough is part of a wider shift in Saudi Arabia’s food landscape, where artisanal production and slower preparation methods are gaining traction.
Specialty coffee seems to have set the early template for this transition, normalizing premium pricing, craftsmanship and an interest in process.
Bread is now undergoing a similar shift, with fermentation replacing extraction and roasting as the central point of differentiation.
In both cases, the appeal is rooted in the product’s perceived authenticity, reduced additives, and a clearer link between raw ingredients and final consumption.
Home bakers in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province have adapted natural yeast cultures to the Saudi environment, adjusting feeding schedules, hydration ratios, and fermentation times to accommodate higher temperatures and lower humidity in the summer months.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Home bakers in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province have adapted natural yeast cultures to the Saudi environment.
• They adjust feeding schedules, hydration ratios, and fermentation times to accommodate higher temperatures and lower humidity in the summer months.
Cafes and specialty bakeries have responded by adding sourdough loaves, baguettes and focaccia to their menus, often positioned as premium alternatives to conventional commercial bread.
For younger home bakers, the appeal lies in the craft and the learning curve rather than nostalgia. “It feels more real and more intentional,” home baker Sarah Al-Almaei told Arab News. She began experimenting with natural yeast at home after watching starter tutorials online.
The technical aspect — hydration percentages, fermentation control and starter maintenance — has become content in its own right, with TikTok and Instagram compressing trial-and-error learning into short videos and recipe cards.
But the practice of maintaining a natural yeast culture is not new in Saudi Arabia. Long before sourdough became a global trend, Saudi households kept what was commonly referred to as the “mother dough,” a natural yeast starter fed and used daily.
“We used to maintain it every day and bake with it,” said Hessa Al-Otaibi, 56, a Saudi home baker with more than four decades’ experience. “People today call it sourdough. For us, it was simply bread.”
Her comment highlights a cultural continuity that has remained largely unrecognized, partly because the practice was not framed as artisanal or health-oriented, but as a routine household function.
The modern sourdough trend differs in its market positioning. While the older model was practical and domestic, the current model is commercial, aesthetic and often health-coded. Bakeries justify higher pricing through longer fermentation times, higher ingredient costs and smaller batch production.
Consumers justify their purchases through digestibility, perceived health benefits, flavor and product integrity.
“Once you get used to it, it’s hard to go back,” said Amina Al-Zahrani, a regular buyer of sourdough from specialty bakeries in Alkhobar.
Digestibility and texture are often cited as reasons for substitution, especially among buyers who report discomfort from standard commercial bread.
Another consumer, Majda Al-Ansari, says sourdough has become part of her weekly routine, noting that availability and quality have improved significantly in the past year.
The social media component has played an outsized role in accelerating adoption. Home bakers document starter feeding cycles, cold proofing and first bakes, turning a once-private domestic process into visible public content.
This has also created micro-markets of home-based sellers, where individual bakers offer loaves to local buyers, often fulfilling orders through direct messaging.
What remains to be seen is how far the trend will scale. If specialty bakeries continue to expand and consumers maintain willingness to pay premium prices, sourdough could establish a long-term place in Saudi food culture.
If not, it may revert to a smaller niche of committed home bakers and specialty cafes. For now, however, sourdough occupies an unusual position: both a newly fashionable trend and a quiet continuation of an older Saudi baking practice.
