Thursday, May 15, 2025
Why Saudi Arabia using Lavender carpet over Red
The lush lavender-colored carpet that President Trump stepped across when he arrived in Saudi Arabia was one feature of the luxurious greeting for the visiting American leader on the first day of his Gulf tour. The striking carpet raises questions about how lavender came to be the kingdom’s symbolic choice for ceremonial events and what it represents. Most Viewed: 6-month grace period for domestic workers with status "Absent from work"
Here’s everything you need to know about Saudi Arabia’s bold choice for ceremonial carpets:
The lavender carpet is one of the distinctive and symbolic Saudi protocols for greeting high-profile dignitaries.
Saudi Arabia in 2021 announced that it chose lavender over red as the new color for ceremonial carpets used at official state receptions and occasions, as the ruling royal family sought to define its protocols and celebrate national identity.
“The lavender carpets are identical to the color of the kingdom’s deserts and plateaus in the spring when they are decorated with the color of lavender flowers and other plants such as desert germander and basil, a flowering shrub that grows across the Arabian Peninsula, also known by the Arabic name “Aihan”, which together form a natural violet,” according to the Saudi Press Agency. Read: 3 new stations launched on Orange line of Riyadh Metro
The lavender ceremonial carpets also include a prominent Saudi cultural element, the traditional art of Sadu weaving on the edges of the new carpets.
In December 2020, UNESCO inscribed Saudi Arabia and Kuwait’s traditional weaving of Sadu on the Intangible Heritage list.
According to UNESCO, traditional Sadu weaving refers to the conventional woven textiles made by Bedouin women.
The horizontal style weaving of Sadu is a form of warp-faced plain weave made on a ground loom. The cloth forms a tightly woven, durable textile, and the weavers use natural fibers found in their environment. See Also: Self-driving cars in Saudi Arabia to arrive this year
“The carpets at the reception ceremony, which feature their new identity, reflect the state of renewal, growth, and renaissance in the Kingdom under the inspiring Vision 2030 program,” SPA said in a statement at the time of the announcement.
The initiative to change the kingdom’s ceremonial carpets, a cooperation between the kingdom’s Ministry of Culture and Saudi Arabia’s Royal Protocol, is “an extension of many national initiatives that celebrate Saudi cultural elements and highlight the national identity,” according to SPA.
Saudi Arabia first rolled out a lavender carpet in 2021 for Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, a key Saudi partner in the Gulf, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The carpet is also used for state receptions and other official occasions. Subscribe to Saudi Expatriates on YouTube
Why Saudi Arabia used Lavender carpet over Red
