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RIYADH: Sneaker collectors will be thrilled to know that Riyadh Outlet is currently hosting a festival called Sneak.Me.

Exploring the world of casual footwear, their designs and global reach is the focus of the Sneak.Me festival, which runs from Oct. 1–14 and is the first of its kind in the Kingdom, in Al-Rehab district.

In addition to an array of musical performances, the festival offers attendees sneakers in a variety of distinctive and unique designs, a museum, and an auction that will feature a selection of sneakers, rare and expensive collectibles, and limited editions. 

The Sneaker Museum showcases such items as 1998 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls signed Air Jordan IV fire red sneakers, and Nike MAG Back To The Future sneakers among others. 

The first floor of the museum contains the auction area, and the second the collections of famous sneakers obsessives in the Arab world. 

Prince Faisal Al-Saud’s collection, featuring rare Yeezy Nike shoes, is on show, also including 1998 Jordan 6 Batman boots and Sadu Dunk shoes, made by hand from Saudi Sadu fabric. 

The museum contains 200 rare items as well as stores, brands and international designers specializing in custom designs.

British brand Matt B Customs, which makes exclusive hand-crafted costume footwear, came from Manchester to participate in the festival. 

“We create handmade custom footwear from branded shoes like Nike, Adidas, Balenciaga, Dior, and we customize them — we change them, paint them, we put new materials on them, and make it super unique. Also we have a website that you can order from,” founder Matt Burgess told Arab News.

Another British brand, Crep Protect, is also on hand to help you clean your shoes.

Aljan, a worker at Crep Protect, said: “This is our first time in Saudi Arabia, and our business is all about shoe cleaning, how to protect the shoe, and how to keep them clean.”

The festival features a special area set aside for musical performances by local DJs and hip-hop groups.

A basketball court can be found in the sports zone, which also has a cafe with a unique view. It also hosts discussion sessions about sports and the various cultures of sneakers.

The area has many surprises for visitors such as the barber corner, where the Brazilian barber, Stenio, provides the finest grooming along with braids and dreadlocks by his partner Lil’ Boy. 

“Young guys love dreadlocks and I think it’s a great idea to have such a shop here for grooming and braiding because it’s special and different and I didn’t see it in Riyadh before, to have a barber shop among the festival and the turnout is crazy,” Lil’ Boy said. 

“This is my first visit to Saudi Arabia, and I’ve decided to stay and work as a barber because I like it here. Riyadh is nice, and the people here are wonderful,” Stenio said. 

A British personal shopper with A list clients, FTP Kicks, is one of the stores that caught people’s attention.

“Since I’ve been collecting sneakers for 10 years and have a thorough understanding of them, I started this business in 2015, and everything you see here is authentic, sold out, and has a special backstory,” founder Hamza Inayat said.

Celebrities and influencers approach him for the most sought-after sneakers, he continued: “Once, a famous influencer reached out to me to get her a pair of the Travis Scott X Nike SB Dunk Lows in a size 38, and that size is a unicorn size — very hard to find — my client wanted them fast, and I managed to find them and deliver them to her within three days, and that was the hardest request I’ve had.”

RIYADH: Top French architects have traveled to Saudi Arabia to learn about the Kingdom’s landmark infrastructure projects, share expertise and explore opportunities to get involved.

Members of AFEX, a nonprofit group representing 120 French firms, met top executives from Saudi giga-projects for a symposium in Riyadh. They will also tour the city, before traveling to Jeddah and AlUla to view projects and learn more about the country’s ambitions.

The events are part of the second Saudi-French Strategic Partnership for Designing Sustainable Cities for Tomorrow, organized by AFEX in partnership with Business France, a government agency promoting French firms abroad.

“We are here today to first understand the ambitions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The impact of Vision 2030 is obviously to change the Kingdom rapidly, but it also has an impact internationally,” said Reda Amalou, AFEX’s president. 

The tour directly connects architects with the leaders of Saudi giga-projects from the Ministry of Culture, Red Sea Development Project, Qiddiya, NEOM’s The Line, Diriyah Gate Development Authority, and the newly added Boutique Group.

“Expertise ranges from heritage, culture, health, transportation, tourism and eco-tourism, and it’s something that is very wide in terms of expertise and could be something of interest in partnerships,” said Amalou. 

• The events are part of the second Saudi-French Strategic Partnership for Designing Sustainable Cities for Tomorrow, organized by AFEX in partnership with Business France, a government agency promoting French firms abroad.

• The tour directly connects architects with the leaders of Saudi giga-projects from the Ministry of Culture, Red Sea Development Project, Qiddiya, NEOM’s The Line, Diriyah Gate Development Authority, and the newly added Boutique Group.

• French architects are currently working on several Saudi projects, including Jean Nouvel’s Sharaan resort. French AFalula is meanwhile working on projects with the Royal Commission of AlUla.

“Some of the projects are a utopia coming to reality, which the whole world is looking at as something which is exemplary, but it is also about pushing the boundaries of development in terms of sustainability and how we move towards those very large-scale projects and very in-depth changes in a sustainable way.”

The participants in the tour include 21 French design and architecture firms, the largest such delegation to gather in one country. Some are new to the Kingdom, while others have been contributing to major projects such as AlUla.

Speakers at the Riyadh symposium included Sumaya Al-Sulaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design commission, who highlighted the role of the Ministry of Culture in preserving the Kingdom’s architectural styles in future projects.

“It’s important that we have these cultural exchanges and that we have different platforms where we make sure people understand where we are coming from and how we define ourselves,” Al-Sulaiman said.

Ludovic Pouille, France’s ambassador, concluded the forum by presenting tokens of appreciation to guests who spoke about the Kingdom’s projects.

French architects are currently working on several Saudi projects, including Jean Nouvel’s Sharaan resort. French AFalula is meanwhile working on projects with the Royal Commission of AlUla.

RIYADH: Riyadh is to become home to a new art center located in one of its prominent landmark buildings.

The Ministry of Culture announced it was launching the Fenaa Alawwal center at the former headquarters of Alawwal Bank in the Diplomatic Quarter.

It said that Fenaa Alawwal would bring together thinkers, creators and leading talents to offer art exhibitions, panels and workshops. 

The building, which opened in 1988, has become a distinctive part of the city, with its colossal columns and traditional Najdi-style motifs.

It was recently placed under the custody of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, in line with Vision 2030’s National Transformation Program, of which culture is an essential component.

The center will host temporary art exhibitions, creative and educational workshops, and a diverse program of seminars and other cultural activities. It will be the first cultural center to be opened by the ministry. 

Fenaa Alawwal will also be home to a specialized library offering a wide selection of art books. A sculpture garden will feature six unique art pieces, the majority of which were commissioned for the center.

The Alawwal Bank, formerly known as the Saudi Hollandi Bank, was the first commercial bank to operate in the Kingdom.

RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, on Monday. The pair discussed efforts to renew a UN-brokered truce which expired on Oct. 2, and has not been extended by Iran-backed Houthi militia. They also discussed ways to achieve security and stability in Yemen and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, Prince Khalid tweeted. “We also discussed the latest developments in Yemen and future steps to deal with possible scenarios,” Prince Khalid wrote.

RIYADH: Celiac disease is estimated to affect one-in-100 people globally, however, in Saudi Arabia, about 0.64 percent of the population suffers from issues related to celiac disease.

The autoimmune disease is triggered by the intake of gluten and rather than being an allergy or congenital condition, it usually develops over time and occurs in genetically predisposed people.  

Symptoms include malabsorption, diarrhea, chronic unexplained abdominal pain and bloating, iron deficiency, and chronic fatigue.

Dr. Hassan Omran Odah, internal medicine, gastroenterology, and hepatology consultant at the International Medical Center network, told Arab News: “Gluten is not only present in foods and beverages but also cosmetic products such as lipsticks, oral and dental hygiene products, vitamins, and supplements as well as over-the-counter medication.” 

He said those most at risk of developing celiac disease were people with a family history of sufferers, making them more genetically susceptible.

As a genetic illness, celiac disease can be passed down from parents to their children and can affect all age groups. But while incurable, Odah pointed out that it could be managed by sticking to a strict gluten-free diet recommended by gastroenterologists and nutritionists.

He also noted that gluten restriction was necessary to prevent osteoporosis, malnutrition, lactose intolerance, and deficiencies in iron, vitamins B12 and D, and even small bowel cancer or lymphoma.

Gluten, Odah added, was present in most foods and the generally high price of gluten-free products was due to difficulties in finding affordable replacements. But alternatives do exist, such as replacing wheat flour with tapioca starch, corn, or rice flour, and substituting wheats and barely for quinoa, chickpea, or brown rice flour.

In 2019, the gluten-free market within the Gulf Cooperation Council union was worth $140 million, of which Saudi Arabia’s share amounted to 45 percent.

In 2018, the Kingdom’s Health Ministry launched a program to financially support the free provision of gluten-free foods to patients with celiac disease in its 33 hospitals and healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Madinah, Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, Al-Ahsa, Asir, Jazan, Qassim, Hail, Najran, and Baha.

Food replacements provided by the ministry’s hospitals include gluten-free breads, flour, cereal, biscuits, pastas, soups, and jellies.

Odah said patients needed to provide, “full medical reports including investigations that confirm the diagnosis such as serology, endoscopy findings, and biopsy results.”

The Celiac Association was established in 2018 under the patronage of Prince Faisal bin Bandar as a non-profit civil society, licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and supervised by the Ministry of Health, to serve gluten-free foods for all regions of the Kingdom.

Although tremendous efforts are being made to treat patients, Odah noted that more awareness initiatives were required.

He said: “We need more awareness of the disease in regard to its symptoms, diagnosis, and complications by doing more campaigns explaining the nature of celiac disease, especially since its symptoms are similar to other gastrointestinal disorders, and miss diagnosis is easy.”

Restaurants, cafes, and eateries throughout the Kingdom are becoming increasingly aware of the need to offer gluten-free dishes in order to accommodate all diners.

Reem Al-Sultan is the CEO of Misk Art Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to creating a platform for local artists.

Her continuous efforts in elevating and expanding the art community in the region were recognized during the National Cultural Awards, where she received the award for cultural organization in the nonprofit sector on behalf of Misk Art Institute.

Her key areas of focus are social responsibility and youth development leadership, growth and expansion, and the monitoring of national strategies and initiatives across the Kingdom.

Al-Sultan is well-versed in improving operation strategies, change management, and organizational development. Her accomplishments in providing strategic direction and continuous leadership to high-impact large-scale projects and programs aid in impacting the lives of many in the region.

She was previously the portfolio manager at King Salman Youth Center, a nonprofit organization that aimed to support and inspire the yout, and build professional leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Al-Sultan also worked within the exhibition and events department at King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy until 2016, and was a supervisor at the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, or Mawhiba, before that.

Al-Sultan received her bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh in 2002 before receiving a postgraduate diploma in project management from Washington State University’s College of Business and Economics in 2013.

In 2014, she graduated from Hochschule Furtwangen in Germany with an MBA in business administration and management. The following year, she received an Executive MBA in project management from Riyadh’s Al-Yamamah University.