Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Each year, a new addition is welcomed to enrich the historical theme of the Kunna Kida (We were like this) festival in Jeddah. This year is an antique museum participating for the first time in a corner at Shalabi Museum for Antiquities. [caption id="attachment_65199" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hidden gems at the Jeddah historic festival[/caption] The museum, set in an original Hejazi building, offers visitors an authentic experience in its narrow halls. Inside the bustling gallery is a wide display of a large variety of antiquities and artifacts that date back to the 1960's while some are from the Ottoman period. Items include old swords, sewing machines, lamps and primitive radios, typewriters, record players and much more. [caption id="attachment_65200" align="alignright" width="226"] Antiquities preserved from Saudi heritage at Kunna Kida Festival in Jeddah. — SG photos by Layan Damanhouri[/caption] "Some of the items are as old as 300 years," says Ammar Ibrahim, the museum keeper. "One of our oldest items is a 400-year-old handwritten copy of the Holy Qur'an." The items were collected from the Hejaz as well as from other parts of the Kingdom. An old diagram of the family tree of the Al-Saud clan is preserved. While some devices are recognizable such as typewriters, clocks with familiar maneuvers, others are completely extinct today. Ibrahim points to a large 150-year-old device the size of a grandfather clock that was used to tell time and date at the time. [caption id="attachment_65198" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Hidden gems at the Jeddah historic festival[/caption] "Some of the items are purchased by us, while some have been donated to the collection," adds Ibrahim. Visitors of different nationalities and ages enjoy browsing the old artifacts and historical pieces that take them back in time. The museum plans to participate permanently in the festival in the future.
