RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah returned to the world’s top oil exporter on Wednesday after spending three months abroad for medical treatment, state television said.

Hundreds of men in white robes performed a traditional Bedouin sword dance on special carpets laid out at Riyadh airport as they prepared to greet the monarch, thought to be 87.

Television presenters wore special scarves in the colours of the Saudi flag in special coverage termed “the joy of a nation” to mark the king’s return.