Makkah museums attract visitors

Director of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities in Makkah Dr. Faisal Al-Sharif confirmed that that there are classification criteria approved by the commission and applied meticulously to ensure a qualitative leap in museums’ displaying and conservation of artifacts. He pointed out that the objective of the licensing is to raise the level of museums in partnership with their owners, whether they are investors or individuals, to match the international quality standards adopted by the commission in the framework of the initiative launched by the president of the commission entitled “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a Destination for Muslims”.

Some museum owners gave approximate figures about how much demand is out there for museums and looked forward to more visitors with the activation of the role of museums as part of the 2030 Kingdom vision.

Humanity Heritage

Founder of Humanity Heritage Museum Magdu Ahmed Abu Ras says: “The idea of the museum began through a hobby, where I started collecting antiques and artifacts 50 years ago. I bought everything rare or old and began to establish the museum”. He added: “The museum includes 14 halls especially for calligraphy, manuscripts, periodicals, journals, documents, coins and stamps.

Islamic Dinar

Islamic Dinar Museum was founded in 1419. The founder of the museum Mohammad Omar Natoo says: “Starting as a hobby since childhood in the collection of Islamic coins, and my belief in the importance of preserving the Islamic and national heritage, I worked on the collection of a number of gold, silver and copper coins, as well as all monetary versions of Saudi Arabia’s currency, and some manuscripts, weapons and historical documents.”

Al-Amoudi Heritage

Al-Amoudi starred building the museum 20 years ago, according to its founder, Abu Bakr Al-Amoudi, who said: “We built the museum in an old-fashioned way made of mud and milk mixture and covered the ceiling with palm fronds on an area of 2,000 square meter on the Makkah-Jeddah highway 20 years before the road was officially opened in 1435H”.

He pointed out that the museum aims to introduce the Saudi heritage of the various regions of the Kingdom in general, and displays the Makkah heritage in particular in addition to historical, cultural and social parameters, and to highlight the bright present and the current renaissance in Makkah.