JEDDAH: There are 132 private and public museums in Saudi Arabia and the Vision 2030 plan has rightly focused on their role in boosting tourism and putting the Kingdom in the lead among different countries.
According to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), the most prominent among them are the National Museum and Al-Masmak Historical Museum in Riyadh.
Al-Masmak is considered one of the leading national museums because of the Al-Masmak Fort, the most important historical monument in the Kingdom. The fort occupies a prominent place in the history of Riyadh in particular and the Kingdom in general because it is connected with the epic of capturing Riyadh in the Hijri year 1319 by the late King Abdulaziz.
In the Hijri year 1400, the Riyadh Secretariat conducted a special study to renovate Al-Masmak. Later, the Ministry of Education, represented by the agency for antiquities and museums and in coordination with Riyadh Development Authority, adopted a program to transform this monument into a museum to represent the stages of establishing the Kingdom by King Abdulaziz.
The museum was opened in early 1995 under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who was the governor of Riyadh at that time. It is one of the largest museums in the Kingdom, located on an area of 17,000 square meters.
The museum has nine galleries, including the Man and the Universe (scientific phenomenon), Arabian Kingdoms (historic period of the Arabian Peninsula). It has a number of artifacts and statues from that era, in addition to photos and maps.
Another prominent museum in the Kingdom is Al-Haramain Museum in Makkah, which contains seven halls highlighting the cultural and historical dimension of the Two Holy Mosques. It also houses old and recent portraits and models of precious antiquities and inscriptions related to the Grand Mosque, in addition to the Kaaba kiswa and the old door of the Kaaba, the handmade fabric machine for the manufacture of the kiswa and other collectibles.
In Jeddah, the Khuzam Palace Museum was built inside the Palace of King Abdulaziz. It is one of the prominent museums in the city. The original palace was built in 1923 and was transformed to a national museum in 1995. It reflects the civilizations and historical stages of the Hijaz region.
Museums to help realize Vision 2030
Museums to help realize Vision 2030
