Sunday, August 6, 2017

MAKKAH — The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has licensed three private museums in Makkah.

Director General of the toursim body in Makkah, Faisal Al-Sharif, said SCTNH chief Prince Sultan Bin Salman on Friday approved licenses for the three museums taking the total number of such facilities in the city to seven.

“The private museums have met the requirements of the commission. Makkah has two other public museums: The Al-Haramain Museum and Makkah Museum. All museums, private and public, have valuable history that must be preserved and seen by the current and future generations,” Al-Sharif was quoted by Okaz Arabic daily as saying.

He added the commission works closely with the owners of the museums to preserve their rare artifacts by licensing the museums and helping the owners develop them.

“We aim to popularize the idea of museums in Makkah and have pilgrims and visitors visit these museums during their stay in Makkah,” said Al-Sharif.

Abdulrahman Al-Thubaiti, director of the Care for National Heritage Department in the Makkah SCTNH, said the three newly licensed museums are categorized as heritage museums. Engineer Talal Khawandanah Museum has different wings: Grand Mosque, Al-Saud, Al-Othmani, music and crafts of Hejaz, newspapers and rare currencies wing with currencies dating back to the time of Prophet Muhamamd (peace be upon him),” said Al-Thubaiti.

He added the Makkah Heritage Museums owned by Tariq Sindi has 30,000 artifacts showcasing the lifestyle of the people of Makkah for over 70 years.

“The third is the Miaz Museum owned by Abdullah Al-Qahtani in Hudaa Area in Buhra Governorate. It showcases Hejazi and southern heritage from fashion to crafts. The museums displays the utensils used to make tea and coffee by the people in the past and the furniture people had in their houses at that time as well,” said Al-Thubaiti.

Source: http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/514536/SAUDI-ARABIA/Museums