In AlUla—where cliffs read like open pages of geologic time and the sky is an ancient, unbroken archive—we imagined an artist residency calibrated to the movement of light itself. The project begins with the idea that to make work in this landscape is to enter a different temporality, one in shadows, sun arcs, star paths, and the quiet breathing of stone.

The residency is conceived as a sunken sundial, a celestial instrument embedded in the desert floor. Rather than build above the land, we cut lightly into it—creating a series of chambers, apertures, and sloping passages that register the passage of the day. At sunrise, light grazes one edge of the courtyard; by noon, it pools deeply in the central void; at dusk, long shadows pull the rooms back into coolness.

Each studio is oriented toward specific celestial events: solstice light-lines, equinox thresholds, lunar arcs. Some rooms open to the night sky; others capture thin vertical slices of sun; others hold only reflected light.

The sunken form draws from ancient desert intelligence: thermal stability, shelter from wind, the intimacy of carved courtyards. But it also echoes cosmological devices across the region—nabatean alignments, pre-Islamic star mapping, early Islamic astronomical instruments—reinterpreted through a contemporary vocabulary tuned to shadow, gradient, and void.

Artists live inside the unfolding of a day: dawn as threshold, noon as volume, dusk as gathering. The land itself becomes collaborator, teacher, and score. In AlUla, this architecture asks its inhabitants to slow down, look up, and re-learn how to read the world through celestial motion—an invitation to make work that is both grounded and cosmic, both of the earth and of the sky

Daily prayer (salat) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Salat begins with ritual ablution (wudhu) as preparation for prayer. Muslims pray facing the qiblah (direction of Mecca), often indicated in mosques by a mihrab (niche in the wall). Fridays and holidays like Eid include performance of other types of salat.

Muslims are required to perform five daily prayers. The first prayer takes place before sunrise, followed by a prayer at midday; the third is at mid- afternoon, another after sunset, and the final prayer when the sky grows dark. The salat provides a regular interruption of the day’s activities in order to focus the mind and heart on the first priority of life, service to God.

Muslims prepare for prayer by performing ritual ablutions, called wudu. This begins with washing of the hands, followed by rinsing of the nose and mouth, washing of the face, ears, arms, hair, and finally ending at the feet. It is a complete ritual washing that prepares the worshipper physically for the prayer.

Facing the qiblah, the direction of Mecca, worshippers stand to begin the prayer. They state their intentions, raise their hands, and pronounce “Allahu akbar” (God is greater). This is followed by recitation of Qur’an, corresponding to each of the four postures of salat which are standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting. After standing, worshippers move into bowing, and recite “subhana rabbiyal azim” (“Transcendent is my Lord, the Mighty”). This is followed by prostration of the face, hands, and feet on the ground while reciting, “subhana rabbiyal a’laa” (“Transcendent is my Lord, the Most High”). While the salat begins with extolling the transcendence of God, it ends with sending royal praises to God, as if worshippers have entered into His presence. The worshipper formally exits from salat by proclaiming peace on both the right and left sides while in the sitting position. The entire cycle of prayer—its pronouncements and postures—is a concrete expression of the Muslim’s submission, inner and outer, to the service, adoration, and path of God.

Bedouin kahwa is a strong aromatic coffee made with cardamon powder, saffron and rosewater.

Serving coffee to visitors is an age old custom derived from Bedouin hospitality traditions and an important part of Saudi Arabian generosity. The ritual of coffee serving is called gawha and is bound by rules of etiquette.

In the presence of his guests, the host will roast, cool and grind the beans. Using a mortar and pestle, he will add cardamom pods in equal or more measure to the coffee beans during the grinding process. When the coffee is brewed, the host pours for his guests – traditionally only men. Unsweetened, fresh dates, are served with the coffee. The Bedouins have a saying that translates to "he makes coffee from morn till night." It is a way of describing a generous man, and no greater praise can be given.

Variously known as Qahwah Saadah (Bedouin coffee), this brew comes to us through the mists of time. It's flavored with cardamom – sometimes called Grains of Paradise – and optionally with sugar. There are as many varied recipes as there are Bedu tribes to serve them.

Hagalla is a desert folk dance performed in desert Bedouin areas. The dance has a unique style than other folkloric dances. It originates from various cities in Egypt and Libya. The Bedouin Samer is a celebration or social event for all Bedouin occasions, including religious holidays and weddings, in which the Hagalla is performed.

In the Hagalla Dance Ritual, a female soloist dancer performs the Hagalla Dance, leading the stage with smooth movement, the men following her to get her attention. She has the most powerful performance on the stage.

The men in dance and clap in rhythm with the music and the singer, their steps coordinated with the music. The clapping and steps follow the tempo of the singer. Men stand separately on one side, and women separately on the other. The men tribe clap and sing in unison, while the woman dances. The dancer is often a member of the family of the bride. Haggal is about women showing their strength, beauty and grace.

The Libyan Haggal is performed for a girl’s coming-of-age. She covers her head and face with a scarf. She can stop opposite one of the young men to give him the end of her scarf for her to dance around him. In the following drawing, the procession of the ritual is investigated.