Saudi Arabia's invitation to Egypt to be a guest of honour for the 31st Jenadriyah Festival is particularly significant in light of reports of differences in opinion between Cairo and Riyadh over a number of regional issues, from the status of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to the Syrian crisis abroad. The warmth towards Egypt that I have found in Saudi Arabia confirms that such disputes should be set within the larger context of historical relations that bind the two countries and that are rooted in the common cultural bonds that unite all Arab peoples. While Egyptian and Saudi Arabian media these days are enumerating the points of disagreement between the two governments that led Riyadh to withhold some aid that it had earmarked for Egypt, Saudi Minister of the National Guard Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdul- Aziz Al-Saud, speaking at the opening session of the festival in the presence of King Salman bin Abdel-Aziz who is sponsoring the festival, praised the cultural, historic and civilisational weight of Egypt and its indisputable role in Arab affairs. Reciprocating in a sedate and thoughtful speech that was well-received by all, the Egyptian Minister of culture, the writer and journalist Helmi Al-Namnam, underscored the depth of the ties that link the two countries “in spite of storms and whirlwinds.” Archaeological excavations and historical studies confirm the historical connection between the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley both before and after the Islamic conquest, Al-Namnam said. He noted that the Islamic conquest was welcomed by the Egyptian people who had suffered under the rule of the Byzantine empire and that the relationship has extended uninterrupted into the modern era, starting with the relations between King Abdel-Aziz, founder of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom and King Fouad I of Egypt. On the “storms and whirlwinds”, the Egyptian minister observed that such phenomena receded entirely during the cultural events of the festival which, this year, has dedicated two seminar sessions to “Saudi Arabia and Egypt: A history of solid relations and Arab national and regional responsibilities.” Professors Khaled Ezzat, Gamal Shaqra, Moatazz Abdel-Fattah, Khaled Abu Bakr and Suleiman Gouwda from Egypt were guest speakers and, from Saudi Arabia, the speakers were Professors Mohamed Al-Saidi, Saleh Al-Khatlan and Abdullah Manaa. Two other sessions were dedicated to “The contemporary Arabic novel and ideology” in the first session of which I had been given the honour to present a talk on my first fictional works. The news of the powerful sandstorm that had struck the UAE had reached us here, in Jenadriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh, but fortunately, the storm, itself, did not arrive to add a real meteorological dimension to the metaphorical one in Egyptian-Saudi relations. Yet, if the dispute between the two countries is due to their divergent views on certain regional issues, Egyptian Ambassador Nasser Hamdi drew my attention to the deeper issue. In the festival's bulletin he wrote that Egyptian-Saudi relations “extend beyond their common positions on a number of regional issues to kinship and in-law relations between two peoples”. These relations, which span history, “are separated only by geographical maps.” Indeed, as he pointed out, more than five million Egyptians live in Saudi Arabia and around half a million Saudi citizens live in Egypt. Asked by a Saudi TV host my opinion on Egypt's participation as a guest of honour in this year's Jenadriyah festival, I said that this participation confirms that Arab culture will remain the element that unifies all Arabs, and this is the basis on which we must build our political and economic relations. I related to her that, once, when I asked our great Arab novelist Naguib Mahfouz about Arab unity he put a question to me in return. “What type of unity are you speaking of?” he asked me. “If you are talking about political unity, it is still a long way off. If you are speaking about economic unity, this requires considerable preparation. But if you are speaking about cultural unity, then it already exists, undeniably.” I told the TV host that the fact that Egypt was asked to be a guest of honour at this year's national festival for culture and heritage at Jenadriyah meant that this cultural unity remains dynamic even in times of political or economic dispute. Egypt offered a strong cultural and artistic contribution to the festival. There were performances by the Nile Folk Music Ensemble, Tannoura, The House of the Arab Oud Orchestra, the Aswan Folk Arts Company, the Sohag Folk Arts Company, the Sabaiya Religious Chants Ensemble and the New Valley Company. In addition, a number of Egyptian poets presented recitals of poems in both classical and colloquial Arabic. The poetry readings by Mohamed Abu Doma, Emad Al-Ghazali, Ragab Al-Sawi, Hussein Al-Qabahi, Sherif Al-Shafei, Sherine Al-Adawi, Fares Khidr and Mahmoud Sharaf proved very popular among audiences. The festival's activities will continue until after mid-February. The Egyptian pavilion in the festival is truly unique. Inaugurated by King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz in the opening days of the ceremony, the pavilion features a wing for the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO), which took pains to select books for display that would appeal to Saudi tastes and interests. There are also wings for Dar Al-Kutub, the National Archives and traditional Egyptian arts and crafts. The tradition of inviting Egypt to take part in the famous Saudi folk arts and culture festival was set in its 23rd edition in 2008. That year the first guest of honour was Turkey, followed in succeeding years by Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, China, the UAE and Germany. I have been following the festival's progress ever since I was invited to attend it for the first time at the beginning of the reign of King Abdullah when I had the honour to deliver the guests' speech before the king. While the Saudis tend to describe Jenadriyah as an international festival because it invites participants from around the world, to me its most important distinguishing feature is that it is first and foremost an authentic Arab festival that presents Arab culture and heritage to its Arab and foreign visitors. This is why the camel races are the central event, as it profiles the camel, the symbol of the Arab desert and the focus of this ancient Arab tradition. Jenadriyah village, which is modelled on traditional architectural layouts and designs, offers the opportunity for all of Saudi Arabia's 13 provinces to display their diverse arts of music, dance, traditional crafts and local cuisines. That Egypt was made guest of honour at this year's festival is certainly a positive initiative. Perhaps we should take this opportunity to ask how Egypt took advantage of this occasion to dispel the “storms and whirlwinds” that are currently looming over the Egyptian-Saudi relationship.
