The next stop for the “Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” exhibition will be Spain, Majid Al-Sheddi, Manager, Public Relations Department of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) told Saudi Gazette. Al-Sheddi said the exhibition, which opened to the public at the Louvre Museum in Paris Wednesday, was the outcome of an accord signed in 2004 between SCTA and the Louvre Museum. “SCTA, which received official requests from a number of museums in Europe and the US, has been negotiating to open the exhibition in these places,” he said. Al-Sheddi told Saudi Gazette that at least four museums, including one in Spain, sent official requests to SCTA to host the exhibition. “We have already signed an accord with a museum in Spain to shift the exhibition from Paris later this year,” he said. Bahrain's Minister of Culture has also asked the organizers of the exhibition to hold the display in the Bahraini capital Manama in 2012. Minister Sheikha Mai Bint Muhammad Al-Khalifa, who attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition in Paris Tuesday, described the exhibition as “a portrayal of human civilization across an extended historical period of the Arabian Peninsula”. Bahrain hopes it can host the display in Manama in two years' time to mark its celebrations as “Arab Culture Capital”. The duration of the exhibition ranges from one month to two months because of the interest of the people, he added. The objective of showcasing the exhibition in Europe and the US is to acquaint the people with the history of the Kingdom, he said. The exhibition presents around 320 pieces, of which two-thirds predate the birth of Islam in the early seventh century. The works, on display at the Louvre until September 27, come mainly from the collections of the National Museum in Riyadh, the Archaeological Museum at King Saud University and regional museums. – SG/Okaz Several colossal statues in red sandstone apparently represent the rulers of the ancient Arabian kingdom of Lihyan, which played an important part in the caravan trade. Found in the northwest of the country, they were restored by the Louvre, which put back a foot on one and a head on another. Major archaeological finds were also made in the east of Saudi Arabia, such as the rich tomb of a little girl, dating from the first century AD, with a mask in gold, jewelry and part of the ornate funeral bed.
