New Delhi 

As winds of change are blowing over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has reverted to its culturally dominant purple carpet to welcome dignitaries over the globally fashionable red carpet.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was among the first foreign dignitaries to walk on the purple carpet when he visited Riyadh recently to get more loans for his country.

Purple or Lilac is part of the Saudi culture and related to the purple bloom of Jacaranda and other flowers like al-Khazami that growsin the desert.

For the Saudi Arabian culture purple also has specific connotations.

The Purple bloom in the desert

The change in the colour of protocol carpet was announced by the Ministry of Culture and Royal Protocol that linked it to the violet- bloom of Jacaranda bloom in the capital city of Abha in Asir province.

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

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

Saudi Arabia’s new purple carpets are also edged in a geometric design that refers to the art of Sadu weaving, a traditional Bedouin practice that has recently been inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Heritage.

It has been put down as a heritage practice for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, though it is widely used across the Gulf, including in the UAE.

Jacaranda bloom in Abha city

Sadu weave is typically made out of wool from sheep and goats, and hair of camels, with the pattern of geometric shapes that runs in stripes down the fabric. The colours are usually red, brown or black, and the motifs – though not the practice itself – are still in common usage in cushions that are popularly and commercially produced across the region.

By the early 19th century, the red carpet was already associated with VIP arrivals in the US and Europe. In the 1920s, the trend moved to Hollywood.

‘Red carpet’ is now synonymous with the pageantry, fashion and adulatory celebrity culture of Tinseltown. However, the Saudi’s felt since there were a few shows with red carpet last year due to the Covid-19, it was the right time to switch to pink and purple.

Besides the dominant Jacaranda bloom Saudis also link the purple colour to Al-Khazami flowers that bloom in the desert.

The change in the colour of the carpet is being praised by all. The French ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ludwig Bowie, praised Saudi Arabia for choosing the colour purple for the reception protocol carpet for official guests.

According to newspaper 24, the French ambassador said in his tweet, So my favourite colour. The French ambassador shared two photos with a tweet, one of a French farm adorned with violet flowers and the other of the Saudi desert adorned with violet flowers during the spring.