4. The Holly Mosque
The Holly Mosque is a sacred landmark
and destination that is located in Makkah
city, the capital of the western region.
Makkah is the oldest pilgrimage and
tourism destination in the world since Pre-
Islamic times. The center of Makkah and
its holiness is stemming from Ka’aba, God’s
house that was built by Prophet Ibrahim
and his son Ismail.
Today, 12 million Muslims from all around
the world visit Makkah annually. The
Mosque has drastically evolved and has
been rigorously expanded throughout the
years to increase its capacity. Currently, its
going through major expansion plans to
increase its spacious capacity to include
10 million Muslims.
5. The Old City of Jeddah
Jeddah, known for, the Red Sea
Mermaid, is one of the oldest
urbanized cities in the Kingdom.
The old city that exist today was built
during the Ottoman Empire, its
known for its Islamic designs and
Windows.
The old city composed of three main
districts: the sea district, the Yemen
district, the Sham and finally the
Oppressed District. Each District is
named after the destination it leads
to, i.e., the sea, Yemen…etc. However,
the Oppressed is named after
Abdulkarim Burzanji, a man who was
murdered under oppression in this
district. Interestingly enough, my
mother’s great grandfather.
6. Islamic Architect
Aseer
Aseer region is located south of the kingdom. Aseer
is famously rich with its architectural heritage that is
spread through various eras and generations. The
region has over 5000 historical villages .
Some of the famous cities and villages that are rich
with historical architecture in Aseer are: Rijaal
Almaa, Sawdah village, AlMiftah village, Al-Nams
governorate, to name a few.
Aseer is most famous for its forts and houses built on
Tihama mountains. Moreover, its famous for the
semi-pyramid shape houses and buildings where the
base is wider in space than the top of the building
(Fig 1) in the post-Islamic times. It’s been noted by
Historians that Aseer inhabitants in the early 1800s
knew the benefits of such an architectural shape.
Most of those buildings are over 260 years old.
Fig 1
8. Manufacturing “Kiswa”
Throughout the centuries, the cover of the
‘Ka’ba’, called, Kiswa, has been a heritage.
The first time the cover of Ka’ba, Kiswa, was
changed was in Prophet Mohammad’s time,
may peace be upon him. Since then, it’s been a
ritual throughout all Islamic governments that
governed Makkah.
The craftsmanship behind the weaving , design
and the hand-stitched embroidery is compared
to no other in the world. Today, changing
Ka’ba’s Kiswa annually is a celebration that the
whole Muslim World view. Personal invitations
to the event are extremely exclusive.
The replaced Kiswa is invaluable. It’s cut and
displayed in museums or sold selectively at
extremely expensive prices.
9. Fig 2
Fig 1
Building Wooden Boats
Saudi Arabia is surrounded by two seas, the
Persian gulf east and the Red Sea west.
The inhabitants of the western and eastern
regions are famous for their craftsmanship in
building wooden boats for different purposes as
harvesting pearls and fishing. Till now, the Persian
Gulf is famous for its rich waters with rare and
exquisite pearls.
There are still famous families in Saudi that
inherited this craftsmanship that is celebrated
every year in Janadria Annual Culture & Heritage
Festival.
Some of the well-known boats in the western
region is the Sanbook, (Fig1), whereas in the
eastern region, the most famous and reliable boat
is the “Boom” (Fig 2)
10. Roses
festival
Producing Rose Water and Perfume
Taif, a city located in the western region
of the kingdom has been forever famous
for its pink aromatic rose: The Taifi roses.
There are over 700 gardens of roses in
Taif, the city celebrates the harvest
season in May every year in the Roses
Festival
Taif rose water is classified one of the
top best in the world. It’s known for the
production of it’s roses essence and
perfumes as well.
15. Raja Alem (1963-
A novelist, short-story writer and play-writer. Earned
her Bacelors of Art degree from the Univeristy of
King AbdulAziz.
Won the Poker Prize for the Arabian Novel in 2011, to
be the first female novelist to win the prize since its
establishment in 2008. Her winning Novel, The
Dove’s Necklace, discusses the social fabric of
Mekkah’s society.
Her novels, The Silk Road and The Dove’s Necklace,
were translated to Spanish & English languages.
Ghazi Al-Gosaibi (1940- 2010)
A diplomat, a poet and a novelist. He filled a number
of diplomatic and technocratic positions, where he
held the positions of an Ambassador and a Minister
of various countries and ministries respectively.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree of liberal arts in Law
from the University of Cairo, and pursued his
postgraduate degrees in International Relations and
International Law for his Masters and Doctoral
degrees respectively.
An Apartment Called Freedom and Seven are his
most famous novels that were translated in English.
Al-Gosaibi was a great role-model and a true leader,
who left a profound impact and a great legacy.
16. References:
• British Petroleum (bp), (2006) Annual Review [Online]. Available from:
http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/annual_review/annual_review_2006/STAGING/local_as
sets/downloads_pdfs/a/ara_2006_annual_review.pdf (Accessed at: Nov 17, 2008)
• Janadria Cultural Heritage Festival (2014) Janadria Cultural Heritage Festival [Online] Available
from: http://www.janadria.org.sa/sites/main/ar/Pages/default.aspx (Accessed: May 4, 014)
• Rose Perfume (2014) Rose Perfume (Arabic) [Online] Available from:
http://www.rosetaif.com/index.php?page=show_page&id=1 (Accessed: May 4, 014)
• Saudi Tourism (2013) Saudi Regions [Online] Available from:
http://sauditourism.sa/en/Explore/Regions/Asir/Pages/default.aspx(Accessed: May 14, 014)
• Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiques (2014) The Heritage [Online] Available from:
http://www.scta.gov.sa/en/Heritage/Pages/default.aspx (Accessed: May 14, 014)
• The Kiswa Factory (2011) Throughout the ages [Online] Available from:
http://factory.alharamain.gov.sa/en/index.html (Accessed: May 4, 014)
• The World Factbook (2013) Central Intelligence Agency [Online] Available from:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html (Accessed: May 3, 014)
