JEDDAH: The Rejal Al-Teeb festival, which will run for 20 days from Aug. 12-31 in the village of Rijal Almaa, explores the southern region’s heritage and culture. The festival is organized by the Ministry of Culture as part of Al-Soudah Season, which hopes to turn it into a global tourist destination. The visitors can go on a tour around the village’s 60 stone and mud buildings, its streets and its squares to discover the village’s rich culture through different activities, including “the Heritage Market,” folklore and live shows, traditional food and arts and poetry evenings. Visitors can also enjoy the flower garden, Basil Café, perfumes shop and fresh flowers, objects and designs. The festival offers a live show that presents the history of Rejal Al-Teeb in pictures and shows how the flower necklaces the locals wear are made. The visitors will have the opportunity to make their own necklaces with the help of Asiri women. Flowers necklaces are a cultural symbol that carries a social connotation for the Asiri people.  However, these necklaces vary according to the occasion, as the visitors will learn as they are entertained by their cultural history. The heritage market is one of the main events of the festival. It involves heritage activities that reflect Asir culture, and it offers visitors the chance to enjoy the richness of its beauty and civilization.HIGHLIGHT • The festival offers a live show that presents the history of Rejal Al-Teeb in pictures and shows how the flower necklaces the locals wear are made. Among other activities, the market will present building with stones, sewing, making daggers, textiles, painting and sculpture activities. The festival includes poetry evenings and local, national and international folklore performances, and offers craft workshops that display traditional skills. Thirty buses will drive visitors between Al-Soudah Park and Rijal Almaa village. Al-Soudah Season office is coordinating with the universities and local social clubs to recruit the festival’s staff and train them to be ready to receive visitors from all around the world. The festival aims at making Rijal Almaa the main tourist destination in the southern region, given its more than 900 years of history as a significant trade hub. The Ministry of Culture is organizing this festival to develop heritage and cultural sites and turn them into international tourism destinations.