Top dignitaries visit heritage sites

RIYADH: The historic places in the capital this week received guests in the form of top foreign dignitaries, who were left stunned by the Kingdom’s rich heritage and culture.
The visitors included South African President Jacob Zuma British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon and their accompanying delegations.
Zuma and his delegation comprising ministers paid a visit on Sunday to the King Abdul Aziz Historic Center that houses the National Museum, where they toured different halls that display various items related to different civilizations of the Arabian peninsula — from the Islamic era to modern Saudi Arabia.
Notably, there are eight halls in the museum named “Man and Universe,” “Ancient Arab Kingdoms,” “Pre-Islam,” “Prophetic Mission,” “Islam and the Arabian Peninsula,” “First and Second Saudi States,” “Kingdom Unification” and “Haj and the Two Holy Mosques.”
The South African president and his team got acquainted with valuable exhibits that highlight the cultural heritage and deep-rooted history of the Kingdom.
Zuma also visited the ongoing exhibition at the National Museum, “Early Capitals of Islamic History,” which has been organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) in collaboration with the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany.
At the end of his visit, Zuma signed the museum guestbook, in which he expressed his admiration on the National Museum and its exhibits.
Earlier, upon his arrival at the museum, the South African president was welcomed by Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, SCTNH vice president Ali Al-Ghabban, who is also supervisor of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Program for Caring of Kingdom’s Cultural Heritage and Jamal Omar, Director General, National Museum.
Moreover, Fallon, the British defense secretary, and his accompanying delegation visited the Historic Al-Diriyah on Monday, where they toured Bejairi neighborhood, the Visitor Center at Historic Al-Diriyah, the Al-Diriyah souk and other heritage landmarks.
During their tour, the delegates were informed about the progress on the Al-Diriyah development project and Turaif neighborhood, which is registered in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.