AL-AHSA: Mohammed Benqouti’s booth at the Al-Ahsa Date Marketing Festival is strategically located at the entrance of the festival — the first and last stop for visitors. The name of Benqouti’s company translates to “Golden Molasses Factory.” It supplies some of the largest quantities of date molasses in the Kingdom, with 10 tonnes manufactured on a daily basis. Customers lined up at Benqouti’s booth to stock up on boxes of vacuum-sealed dates, buckets of date molasses and individually packed date cookies. Their purchases were gathered into little pink and yellow plastic bags that looked like small gems glistening in the bright morning sun. A giant plate of dates was spread out at the front of the booth for anyone passing by to dig in for a piece — or a few. Benqouti told Arab News about the high quality of dates found in Al-Ahsa: “Get me any container and we will fill it with our golden date molasses. It can be 100 liters — whatever you need. The Al-Ahsa date is the best in the Kingdom, from its flavor to its texture. Even people in other areas that have date farms prefer our ‘Hasawi’ dates. Why? Our quality is superior because of the soil and the climate. It makes our dates one of the best.” Expatriate friends Julie, Lovejoy and Crisanta arrived from Riyadh on a road trip specifically to sample the tasty delights in Al-Ahsa. Julie told Arab News: “We wanted to try Al-Ahsa dates because they said this is ‘the city of dates.’ I’ve been here for 16 years as a nurse in a government hospital in Riyadh so I wanted to see the other places of Saudi Arabia. I will be here in Saudi for one more month and then I will be leaving for good … I’m so glad and so blessed that I’ve found this place and this festival. I see a lot of different products made out of dates. I love Saudi Arabia. God bless this country.” Crisanta had visited Al-Ahsa before but was excited to taste the dates at Benqouti’s stand. They were the best she had ever had, she told Arab News. “It’s very good, it’s delicious!”  The festival is organized by Al-Ahsa Municipality in cooperation with the Eastern Province Development Authority and the Al-Ahsa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It includes a morning market from 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. every day except Friday, and an evening market between 4 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. daily. Food trucks and live music brighten up the market at nights.