Tourism & Hospitality | Friday 4 January, 2019 12:06 pm |

Visitors to this year’s Janadriyah festival can take a virtual tour around the Kingdom in just three hours.
Through the tour, visitors can get a comprehensive glimpse into the culture, customs, diverse history and dramatic landscapes defining the country’s 13 provinces. Folklore and traditional musical renditions specific to each region are performed in the backdrop.
Visitors begin the tour at the Makkah pavilion, which is decorated with makeshift landmarks of the historic city, including the Zamzam well, and has traditional Makkah craftsman demonstrating their skills.
At the Madinah pavilion, home to the Prophet’s Mosque and his final resting place, visitors can listen to El-Arish, a traditional storyteller, telling tales from the region’s golden age.
The pavilion includes an interactive virtual tour of 53 key historic sties of contention and triumph during the reign of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
From there, visitors are taken on a journey back to the 1950s in the Eastern Province. The pavilion is marked by a door mimicking the grand gates of the region’s most famous landmarks, including Tarout Castle, Al-Ahsa School, Qarah mountain and the Jawatha Mosque.
This virtual tour also allows visitors to explore many of the region's most popular attractions, including Liwan.
At the Asir pavilion, meanwhile, visitors can take a walk through a reconstruction of the region’s three major palaces, in which traditional designs have been mimicked and customs enacted.
At the pavilion of Al-Jouf, a region renowned for its olives, visitors smell the fruit and can view three folklore shows specific to the region, as well as a replica of the famous Omar Mosque minaret.
The Qassim pavilion contains a model of the region’s historic tower, a heritage palace and traditional Qassimi houses, while the Hail pavilion offers a fine art gallery and an enactment of the city’s women-only souk.
The pavilion exhibiting ways of life in the Kingdom’s Al-Baha region is designed to the letter. Visitors get a glimpse into its famous museum and the way in which locals performing the national anthem are dressed up.
Al-Baha homes are also renowned for their distinct ceilings and wall colors, which are painted throughout the pavilion. Visitors can also get a whiff of the scents of the region’s cuisine and aromatic plants.
The Jazan pavilion reflects the region’s distinct geographic character. Set against a mountainous backdrop to exemplify the region’s rugged landscape, the makeshift villages are surrounded by virtual agricultural terrains.
Finally, at the Najran pavilion, visitors can view renditions of the region’s Hama wells, as well as handicrafts produced by Najran locals.