SAEED AAL MANSOUR JEDDAH: An exhibition entitled “The magnificent antiquities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia throughout the ages” will be launched Monday by the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, in cooperation with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the SCTA, and Alexander Avdeyev, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, are scheduled to inaugurate the event. A number of cultural activities will take place, including three lectures on the second day dealing with the Kingdom's archeology and heritage. The lectures are: “The ancient civilizations of the Kingdom” by Dr. Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Ghabban, Deputy President for Antiquities and Museums at the SCTA; “Urban heritage in the Kingdom” by Dr. Mishary Al-Na'eem, Professor of Architectural Criticism; and “The sites of world-class urban heritage in the Kingdom” by Dr. Abdullah Al-Saud, Director General of the National Museum in Riyadh. The visitors will be able to see a number of documentary films highlighting the Kingdom's history and civilization produced by the SCTA and the Ministry of Culture and Information. Pictures and books on the Kingdom will be distributed. The exhibition will showcase 347 artifacts from the National Museum in Riyadh, King Saud University Museum, King Abdul Aziz Foundation (Darah) for Research and Archives, a number of other museums in the Kingdom and antiquities found during recent archeological excavations. Twenty-seven new pieces have been added to the earlier set of 320 antiquities showcased in France and Spain.
