Al-Rakadi ‘museum’ in Abha takes you to the heart of Asir history, traditions

Virtually a museum, a private collection overlooks the city of Abha and expresses the originality of Asir.
Muhammad Al-Rakadi chose to offer his rich experience to the visitors through his rare collections that is frequently visited by a large number of tourists every year.
The museum shares the story of the region’s locals.
Al-Rakadi tells the story through a small reception room decorated with old drawings, old windows, a uniquely designed roof, wooden, green-colored doors and traditional items that adorn the walls.
The museum also houses the Asiri Council, which includes the traditional halls, the ancient artifacts, fire places and an old TV room, in addition to pictures of King Abdul Aziz and his sons.
There is a section with an old Asiri kitchen, which includes pottery, old dining tables, lanterns, a private section for photos and paintings, traditional women’s clothing, silver jewelry, antiques and pots.
There is also another section for old coins, newspapers and magazines.
Al-Rakadi pays special attention to the corridors of the museum, which includes windows overlooking the fascinating city. The curtains are made of Asiri quilt cloth, while the walls are adorned with antiques.
Al-Rakadi’s museum expresses his love and interest for heritage. He says that it is a style of life and the museum portrays his ambition to preserve the heritage and culture of Asir.
“He was keen to collect pieces of heritage and present them in a distinctive layout in order to attract the region’s tourists to explore the history of Asir,” he said.
“Many Asiri people have turned their homes to museums containing traditional pieces.”
Al-Rakadi has had many visitors to the museum, including both people of the region and tourists and visitors from different countries. His wife currently runs the museum in case there are female visitors who need a female guide.
His wife indicated that she learned how to talk to people about the heritage of the region and about the pieces on display.
She said that they collected the heritage pieces to tell story of the people of locals, including Asiri women.
She said the visitors who visit the museum are of different nationalities, stressing on her husband’s keenness to lay out artifacts attractively to attract the new generations to learn about the culture.