Saudi Arabia enjoys great culture and heritage, affirming the depth of its civilization as well as its historic presence through the ages upon which the country stands today. The idea of this traveling exhibition, through a number of renowned museums in Europe and the United States, will acquaint the world with the Saudi culture, and will highlight the particular importance of the antiquities of Saudi Arabia to understand the chain of human history and the current progress witnessed in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition showcases over 320 archeological masterpieces which cover many historic periods starting from the ancient Stone Age (One million years BC) till the Saudi Renaissance time.
Cultural Institutions
A variety of institutions have been established throughout the country to preserve Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage. One of the largest is the Department of Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Information, which sponsors a wide range of cultural programs, including literary and drama clubs, folklore classes, library events, arts and crafts as well as science projects. These clubs cover a range of cultural activities. At the drama clubs, for example, participants engage in writing competitions and performances as part of a team. Other clubs offer Saudis the opportunity to develop various artistic talents.
The Department of Culture regularly sponsors exhibitions, literary readings and symposia at its regional offices as well as its Riyadh headquarters. It also sponsors Saudis to participate in international art and cultural events, including poetry and essay competitions as well as exhibits of calligraphy and artwork. The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, founded in 1972, sponsors Saudi artists and provides ways for new talents to develop and display their art.
The society has established a library and information center, as well as the Saudi’s first cultural center, located in Riyadh. Other institutions that promote culture include the King Fahd Library in Riyadh, which offers one of the largest collections of rare manuscripts on Arabic and Islamic literature, and is a premier research facility in the Middle East; and the King Faisal Foundation, which offers annual King Faisal International Prizes, including one for Arabic literature. Many King Faisal Prize laureates have gone on to receive other international awards, including the Nobel Prize. The Department of Museums and Antiquities was established in 1974. Today, there are major museums in each of the Kingdom’s 13 provinces, as well many small privately owned ones throughout the country.
Saudi Arabia’s largest museum is the National Museum in Riyadh, which was established in 1999 to celebrate the centennial of the taking of the Masmak Fortress by the young Abdulaziz, an event that led to the founding of the modern Saudi state. There are also private museums, such as the Humane Heritage Museum in Jeddah.
Language
Arabic is one of the oldest groups of languages in the world. The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula were the first to use the Arabic language in pre-Islamic times. With the expansion of Islam and Islamic culture in the 7th century AD, the Arabic language spread north, east and west. The Arabic language is today one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. There are some 200 million Arabic speakers in more than 20 countries.
Arabic is the official language of many Arab nations in the Middle East and northern Africa, including the Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Written Classical Arabic is the standard written language of all Arab nations. It is the language of the Holy Quran, the sacred book of the Islam, and has changed little over the centuries. A spoken form of written Arabic is used for formal speech, radio and TV news broadcasts and in films, plays and poetry. This form also serves as a common spoken language for Arabs from all parts of the Arabic speaking world.
Spoken Arabic appears in a variety of dialects one of which is the Gulf dialect (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE). English is also an important language in Saudi Arabia, widely spoken as a second language by educated Saudis.
enjoys great culture and heritage, affirming the depth of its civilization as well as its historic presence through the ages upon which the country stands today. The idea of this traveling exhibition, through a number of renowned museums in Europe and the United States, will acquaint the world with the Saudi culture, and will highlight the particular importance of the antiquities of Saudi Arabia to understand the chain of human history and the current progress witnessed in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition showcases over 320 archeological masterpieces which cover many historic periods starting from the ancient Stone Age (One million years BC) till the Saudi Renaissance time.
Cultural Institutions
A variety of institutions have been established throughout the country to preserve Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage. One of the largest is the Department of Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Information, which sponsors a wide range of cultural programs, including literary and drama clubs, folklore classes, library events, arts and crafts as well as science projects. These clubs cover a range of cultural activities. At the drama clubs, for example, participants engage in writing competitions and performances as part of a team. Other clubs offer Saudis the opportunity to develop various artistic talents.
The Department of Culture regularly sponsors exhibitions, literary readings and symposia at its regional offices as well as its Riyadh headquarters. It also sponsors Saudis to participate in international art and cultural events, including poetry and essay competitions as well as exhibits of calligraphy and artwork. The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, founded in 1972, sponsors Saudi artists and provides ways for new talents to develop and display their art.
The society has established a library and information center, as well as the Saudi’s first cultural center, located in Riyadh. Other institutions that promote culture include the King Fahd Library in Riyadh, which offers one of the largest collections of rare manuscripts on Arabic and Islamic literature, and is a premier research facility in the Middle East; and the King Faisal Foundation, which offers annual King Faisal International Prizes, including one for Arabic literature. Many King Faisal Prize laureates have gone on to receive other international awards, including the Nobel Prize. The Department of Museums and Antiquities was established in 1974. Today, there are major museums in each of the Kingdom’s 13 provinces, as well many small privately owned ones throughout the country.
Saudi Arabia’s largest museum is the National Museum in Riyadh, which was established in 1999 to celebrate the centennial of the taking of the Masmak Fortress by the young Abdulaziz, an event that led to the founding of the modern Saudi state. There are also private museums, such as the Humane Heritage Museum in Jeddah.
Language
Arabic is one of the oldest groups of languages in the world. The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula were the first to use the Arabic language in pre-Islamic times. With the expansion of Islam and Islamic culture in the 7th century AD, the Arabic language spread north, east and west. The Arabic language is today one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. There are some 200 million Arabic speakers in more than 20 countries.
Arabic is the official language of many Arab nations in the Middle East and northern Africa, including the Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. Written Classical Arabic is the standard written language of all Arab nations. It is the language of the Holy Quran, the sacred book of the Islam, and has changed little over the centuries. A spoken form of written Arabic is used for formal speech, radio and TV news broadcasts and in films, plays and poetry. This form also serves as a common spoken language for Arabs from all parts of the Arabic speaking world.
Spoken Arabic appears in a variety of dialects one of which is the Gulf dialect (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE). English is also an important language in Saudi Arabia, widely spoken as a second language by educated Saudis.
