Why did Trump walk a purple carpet in Saudi Arabia?

Kingdom opts for unusual colour to mark visits by dignitaries

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomes US President Donald Trump on the purple carpet at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. AP

US President Donald Trump has stepped out of Air Force One on to a purple carpet, not red.

For the first visit to the Gulf region of his second term, Saudi Arabia has rolled out a carpet worthy of the importance of the moment. So why didn't it choose the standard red carpet to welcome Mr Trump?

For years, the red carpet has suggested glamour, royalty and power. But in 2021, Saudi Arabia announced it would eschew red for dignitary visits – opting for purple carpets instead.

Why does Saudi Arabia use purple?

Red and purple have long been the colours associated with royalty, because the dyes for those vibrant colours were the most expensive, and therefore the most desirable way to express admiration for visiting dignitaries. Purple was originally extracted from a sea snail shell found off the coast of modern Lebanon.

However, purple also has specific connotations in Saudi Arabia's culture. The Ministry of Culture connected the change in ceremonial procedure to violet-coloured flowers in bloom across the Asir region.

“The lavender carpets are identical to the colour of the kingdom’s deserts and plateaus in the spring,” said the Saudi Press Agency, referring to the blooms of lavender, desert germander, basil and jacaranda trees.

Saudi officials receiving China's President Xi Jinping at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in 2022. AFP

Rows of the latter, with their violet flowers, blossom in Asir's capital of Abha, striping the city in purple.

As Saudi Arabia ramps up its tourism industry, it is keen to promote Asir, with its verdant, mountainous climate – and tribal practices such wearing floral crowns – that differ from the image of a purely desert nation.

What is the sadu weave design?

Saudi Arabia's purple carpets are edged in a geometric design that refers to the art of sadu weaving, a traditional Bedouin practice on the Unesco list of Intangible Heritage.

It is listed as a heritage practice for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, although it is widely used across the Gulf, including in the UAE.

Sadu weave is typically made of wool from sheep and goats, and camel hair, with a geometric pattern that runs in stripes down the fabric.

The colours are usually red, brown and black, and the motifs – although not the practice itself – are still in common usage on cushions that are commercially produced across the region.

In traditional sadu, the red dye comes from the root of the madder plant, which grows in Asia and the Mediterranean. By contrast, the red used in European carpets, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, comes from the cochineal scale insect, which lives in South America and was a highly prized export before synthetic dyes were developed.

Why is the red carpet important?

By the early 19th century, the red carpet was already associated with VIP arrivals in the US and Europe.

When US president James Monroe visited South Carolina in 1821, the city of Georgetown laid out a red carpet for him, and passengers from some upper-class train coaches disembarked in New York on red carpets at the turn of the century.

In the 1920s, the trend moved to Hollywood. The Egyptian Theatre rolled out a red carpet for the premiere of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, in 1922, and in 1961, the Academy Awards started using a red carpet to welcome its invitees to the ceremony.

The red carpet is now synonymous with the pageantry, fashion and adulatory celebrity culture of Tinseltown.

A version of this article was originally published in May 2021

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Saudi ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud meets US president Donald Trump. AP