Model Jessica Kahawaty explores Saudi Arabia
Australian-Lebanese model, entrepreneur and influencer Jessica Kahawaty is treating her 1 million Instagram fans to a tour of Saudi Arabia.
This week, the model hopped between Riyadh and Jeddah, with a pitstop in the Saudi desert, for a number of events.
She hit the ground running in Riyadh with a visit to the Times Square entertainment destination in the capital and stopped off at the Echo Beauty department store and the We Cre8 department store in The Boulevard.
“Riyadh. Wow. What a welcome. Thank you #VedaHolding a pioneer in entrepreneurship in concepts like @wecre8.sa and @ echobeauty.sa, for your hospitality and thank you to the people of Riyadh who found me in a quick and quiet visit to Times Square late last night after the desert and gave me the funnest welcome ever!!! Can’t wait for what’s to come soon Saudi (sic),” Kahawaty posted on Instagram alongside a carousel of images and videos of her visit.
For the occasion, she showed off a dazzling pink dress by Miu Miu.
Before her 3 a.m. trip to the mall, Kahawaty enjoyed a traditional dinner in the desert and shared a cozy-looking carousel of photos in which she can be seen enjoying kabsa in a desert camp complete with a roaring fire.
“My first Saudi desert experience with a traditional kabsa dinner (rice with lamb),” she captioned the post on Instagram.
The model, who is also an avid humanitarian, then hopped on a plane to Jeddah, during which she was treated to a meal she had been craving — a McDonald’s burger.
“They asked what cuisine I wanted, I said ‘Le McDonald’s’,” she joked on her Instagram feed.
In Jeddah, Kahawaty received a warm welcome as she arrived to stay with Saudi designer
Arwa Al-Banawi before the pair enjoyed a spread of pastries and homemade goodies.
When she’s not jetting around the world, the Dubaibased 32-year-old can be found setting up charitable endeavors — evidenced most recently in her online fundraiser to support those struggling in Lebanon amid the country’s shortage of fuel, medical supplies and food in August.
“My name is Jessica Kahawaty and I, like many Lebanese expats, feel helpless watching my country and people drown in despair,” she wrote at the time.
Kahawaty said that money raised was distributed among nonprofit organizations that she personally vetted, individual families and students.