Saudi music fest spotlights Islamic heritage

AL-ULA, Saudi Arabia: Bathed in light, musicians belt out melodies among pre-Islamic desert ruins in northwestern Saudi Arabia, a heritage trove at the centre of efforts to put the reclusive kingdom on the tourism map.

Hosted by the Al-Ula governorate — where Nabatean tombs and art are chiseled into caramel-hued rock — “Winter at Tantora” is the latest music carnival in the Islamic kingdom, where such events were unheard of just two years ago.

Spread over eight weekends until February 9, the main events are hosted in an auditorium made of mirrored glass that has drawn international artists, from Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi to French classical violinist Renaud Capucon. And it shines a spotlight on a long-isolated area seen widely as an open-air museum. “Saudi Arabia is turning a new page,” said Zainab al-Kadadi, a Riyadh-based banker.

The 29-year-old attended a musical weekend that also included sand dune bashing — an adventure sport that involves driving across challenging desert landscapes — and a tour of an Ottoman-era train station. The festival is seen as a soft opening of Al-Ula, an area roughly the size of Belgium that is being touted as the centrepiece of Saudi attractions, as the petro-state prepares to open up to international tourists.

Building a tourism industry from scratch is at the heart of a government plan to prepare the Arab world´s biggest economy for a post-oil era, an ambition fraught with challenges.