مِهْرَجَانُ التَّمْرِ فِي بُرَيْدَةَ

هَذَا مِهْرَجَانُ التَّمْرِ فِي بُرَيْدَةَ. بُرَيْدَةُ مَدِينَةٌ فِي مِنْطَقَةِ الْقَصِيمِ. وَالْقَصِيمُ فِي وَسَطِ السُّعُودِيَّةِ. فِي الْقَصِيمِ نَخْلٌ كَثِيرٌ جِدًّا. يَبْدَأُ الْمِهْرَجَانُ فِي الصَّيْفِ كُلَّ سَنَةٍ. وَهُوَ أَكْبَرُ مِهْرَجَانٍ لِلتَّمْرِ فِي الْعَالَمِ. يَأْتِي إِلَيْهِ الْمُزَارِعُونَ وَالتُّجَّارُ. وَيَأْتِي مُشْتَرُونَ مِنْ دُوَلِ الْخَلِيجِ أَيْضًا. لِلْمِهْرَجَانِ سُوقٌ كَبِيرٌ. كُلَّ يَوْمٍ تَدْخُلُ السُّوقَ سَيَّارَاتُ الْمُزَارِعِينَ. وَالسَّيَّارَاتُ مَلِيئَةٌ بِالتَّمْرِ. هَذَا التَّمْرُ مِنْ مَزَارِعِ الْقَصِيمِ. يَفْحَصُ فَرِيقُ الْجَوْدَةِ التَّمْرَ قَبْلَ الْبَيْعِ. يَعْمَلُ فِي السُّوقِ دَلَّالُونَ كَثِيرُونَ. يَصْعَدُ الدَّلَّالُ عَلَى السَّيَّارَةِ. وَيَنْظُرُ إِلَى التَّمْرِ وَيَتَكَلَّمُ عَنْهُ. ثُمَّ يَبْدَأُ الْمَزَادُ. يَرْفَعُ الْمُشْتَرُونَ السِّعْرَ. فِي السُّوقِ أَنْوَاعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ مِنَ التَّمْرِ. مِنْهَا السُّكَّرِيُّ وَالْبَرْحِيُّ وَالْخَلَاصُ. يَشْتَرِي النَّاسُ السُّكَّرِيَّ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ. وَهُوَ سَهْلٌ فِي الْحِفْظِ وَالنَّقْلِ. وَيُحِبُّهُ النَّاسُ فِي بُلْدَانٍ أُخْرَى أَيْضًا. فِي الْمِهْرَجَانِ أَيْضًا لَيْلَةٌ اسْمُهَا لَيْلَةُ النَّخْلَةِ. فِيهَا عُرُوضٌ شَعْبِيَّةٌ لِلزُّوَّارِ. وَتَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْمِهْرَجَانِ حَافِلَةٌ لِلزُّوَّارِ. تَأْخُذُهُمْ إِلَى أَمَاكِنَ مَشْهُورَةٍ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ. وَيَشْرَحُ لَهُمْ مُرْشِدٌ تَارِيخَ بُرَيْدَةَ.

This is the dates festival in Buraidah. Buraidah is a city in the Qassim region. Qassim is in the middle of Saudi Arabia. There are very many palm trees in Qassim. The festival begins in summer every year. It is the biggest dates festival in the world. Farmers and traders come to it. Buyers come from the Gulf countries too. The festival has a big market. Every day the farmers’ vehicles come into the market. The vehicles are full of dates. These dates come from the farms of Qassim. The quality team checks the dates before the sale. Many auctioneers work in the market. The auctioneer climbs onto the vehicle. He looks at the dates and talks about them. Then the auction begins. The buyers raise the price. There are many kinds of dates in the market. Among them are sukkari, barhi and khalas. People buy sukkari more than the others. It is easy to store and to carry. People in other countries love it too. The festival also has a night called Palm Night. It has folk performances for the v