Makkah, Madinah to get Islamic heritage, Qur`an museum

Jeddah (ANTARA News) - Prince Sultan bin Salman, Secretary-General of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), has announced recently plans to establish an Islamic heritage museum in Makkah and a Qur`an museum in Madinah.

He said the two museums would be established in cooperation with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The project is significant as it targets nearly 10 million foreign pilgrims who visit the Kingdom every year to perform Haj and Umrah.

"We`ll establish six new museums in different regions this year and renovate 12 others," the SCT chief was wuoted by IINA as saying.

He also disclosed plans to establish a large museum in Jeddah, which attracts more than two million tourists and visitors annually.

The Jeddah museum will be located at Khozam Palace, Prince Sultan said, adding that it would be similar to the National Museum in Riyadh.

Prince Sultan said the Kingdom`s heritage and museum sector would witness tremendous development in the coming years with the issuance of a new law regulating its activities.

He also spoke about excavations in association with foreign geological missions in various parts of the Kingdom.

A German team is currently conducting digging works in Taima with the support of Saudi teams.

"We have plans to renovate the Taima Museum as well as a number of other museums, historical sites and palaces," the Prince said. He recently inspected archaeological sites in Taima, 260 km east of Tabuk. (*) end