For this work, Prince Sultan Bin Fahad spelt out a prayer on prayer mats - but kept only the diacritical remarks (the tashkeel) above and below the Arabic letters. El Seed, who was at the opening, deciphered the prayer from the remarks and expressed his deep admiration for the work. Courtesy of the artist and Athr Gallery, Jeddah
For this work, Prince Sultan Bin Fahad spelt out a prayer on prayer mats - but kept only the diacritical remarks (the tashkeel) above and below the Arabic letters. El Seed, who was at the opening, deciphered the prayer from the remarks and expressed his deep admiration for the work. Courtesy of the artist and Athr Gallery, Jeddah
For this work, Prince Sultan Bin Fahad spelt out a prayer on prayer mats - but kept only the diacritical remarks (the tashkeel) above and below the Arabic letters. El Seed, who was at the opening, deciphered the prayer from the remarks and expressed his deep admiration for the work. Courtesy of the artist and Athr Gallery, Jeddah
For this work, Prince Sultan Bin Fahad spelt out a prayer on prayer mats - but kept only the diacritical remarks (the tashkeel) above and below the Arabic letters. El Seed, who was at the opening, dec

Meet the Saudi Prince who spends his Fridays scouring flea markets in his old Land Cruiser


Melissa Gronlund
  • English
  • Arabic

Prince Sultan bin Fahad bin Nasser has a knack of coaxing histories out of found objects, and his latest show is a testament to this skill. Using material found throughout Riyadh's formerly abandoned Red Palace and at flea markets throughout the country, Prince Sultan, and the show's curator, Reem Fadda, who lives in Abu Dhabi, have erected a history of Saudi Arabia told through its forgotten goods.

“I always wonder why we neglect things that meant a lot,” he says. “You go to a palace and see a window. You spent money to make this window happen. And then you let go of it. You throw it away. I might as well make use of it.”

Prince Sultan says you can find him on Fridays scouring flea markets in his old Toyota Land Cruiser, using bargaining techniques he learnt from his mother. "When I was young, I was shy, but she made me try it," he says. "They ask for 1,000 and she'd say: 'I'll take it for 100.'"

Prince Sultan Bin Fahad Bin Nasser Al-Saud in front of his work 'To Dust'. Courtesy of Athr Gallery.
Prince Sultan Bin Fahad Bin Nasser Al-Saud in front of his work 'To Dust'. Courtesy of Athr Gallery.

It was at the Friday markets that he found the material for the centrepiece of his exhibition at the Red Palace in Riyadh. The palace had been abandoned for 20 years and has never before been open to the public in its 75-year history. Now, in Prince Sultan's eponymous exhibition, it has come alive.

The central element is a recreation of the kind of banquet that would have been held in the grounds in the 1940s, but thrown for the labourers, rather than royalty. He researched the type of flowers that would have been used and the food that would have been served. At flea markets, he hunted down the crockery with the insignia of the Red Palace.

"When I was young, I was shy, but she made me try it. They ask for 1,000 and she'd say: 'I'll take it for 100.'"

He could not find the staff who would have been alive then, so he used a casting agent to hire actors, and asked them to perform getting ready for a banquet and then eating it – the latter in a video that was projected in the palace’s former dining room.

Prince Sultan’s use of the Red Palace is significant in other ways as well.

"I think it's amazing to have the opportunity for the youth," says Prince Sultan about the current Saudi cultural reforms. Aware of his standing, he describes himself as a reluctant participant. "I need to do it myself to open the doors for others to try. When I asked to use this palace, it was not because of who I am. The company who owns it is under the Saudi investment fund – they are transforming the palace into a boutique hotel. When they heard what I wanted to do – this dinner at the palace celebrating the labourers that nobody talks about – they said, please, we'll do it for you. And people behind my back were saying, it's only because you're such and such that you can do it. One, yes, I can. And two, I tried. If you have a dream, you can try, you can make it happen. So I did it, and now I want other people to try."

Prince Sultan Bin Fahad collected dishware that would have been used in the Red Palace when it hosted royal dignitaries, and used this same crockery for a feast held in honour of the staff who would have worked there. Courtesy of the Athr Gallery.
Prince Sultan Bin Fahad collected dishware that would have been used in the Red Palace when it hosted royal dignitaries, and used this same crockery for a feast held in honour of the staff who would have worked there. Courtesy of the Athr Gallery.

In addition to the labourers, the work treats a number of topics that might otherwise have been considered controversial. An installation of water bottles ­selling zamzam, the holy water that runs underneath Makkah, allude to what Prince Sultan calls the "holy economy" of Makkah and Madinah. And a collection of images refer to the 1979 events in Holy Makkah, showing the site around the Ka'aba entirely empty.

The show extends across the two floors of the impressive Ottoman-style building, which was erected by King Abdulaziz for his son Saud, later King Saud, in 1945. It was used for the meetings of the Council of Ministers until 1988, when it was transformed into the Court of Grievances, which considered complaints.

Prince Sultan is an established artist in Saudi Arabia who shows with Athr Gallery in Jeddah. He was educated in San Diego and San Francisco – where, he says, "my creative world opened up" and he is married to the illustrious Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, a former editor of Vogue Arabia. Their house in Riyadh defies expectations of royalty's gilded taste. It is painted red – reportedly in homage to the Red Palace, which Prince Sultan has long been interested in – and filled with his elegant curved sculptures, as well as works that overlap with his material for the Red Palace exhibition.

"I love collecting things," he says. "How you furnish or design a place depends on how you feel." He pauses, as if considering whether to continue. "I'm not dropping names, but I know Philippe Starck and I love his work. He says: 'I do things for customers. But as a friend, I wouldn't do anything for you. You should do whatever you want in your place.'

“And I believe him.”

The Red Palace by Prince Sultan bin Fahad bin Nasser will run until Saturday. For more, visit www.athrart.com

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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SEMI-FINAL

Monterrey 1 

Funes Mori (14)

Liverpool 2

Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg

Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')

Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')

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David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

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Teaching your child to save

Pre-school (three - five years)

You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.

Early childhood (six - eight years)

Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.

Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)

Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.

Young teens (12 - 14 years)

Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.

Teenage (15 - 18 years)

Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.

Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)

Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.

* JP Morgan Private Bank 

PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

RESULTS

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi

6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan