An exhibition of antiquities from GCC countries is being held at the National Museum in Riyadh. There is an abundance of antiquities in Saudi Arabia, but a lot of the nation’s historical treasure is in foreign lands – museums, and private, personal and corporate collections. Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), was reported as saying recently that the Kingdom has prepared a comprehensive plan to retrieve national antiquities from abroad. He said the new antiquities law would be very strict in dealing with the issue of smuggling historical artefacts. He said that the Commission deals with places of historic importance within the perspective of Shariah and with the intent of protecting them, and stressed an important aspect of historical Islamic sites. “We’ll never allow such sites to be turned into shrines. We have to project this heritage in order to prove that the Gulf region is not only rich in oil, but also in culture and civilisation.”
ANTIQUITIES ON EXHIBITION
An exhibition of antiquities from GCC countries is being held at the National Museum in Riyadh. There is an abundance of antiquities in Saudi Arabia, but a lot of the nation’s historical treasure is in foreign lands – museums, and private,
