Al-Ula citizens honored for returning national treasures

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman honored a groups of citizens from Al-Ula for returning several valuable relics to the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) in the presence of Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the SCTA.
The ceremony took place following the opening of the first conference entitled “Archaeology and Tourism in Al-Ula: Challenges and Aspirations” at Taibah University campus in Al-Ula.
Prince Faisal commended Saudis for their gesture, saying it reflects their growing awareness on the importance of preserving the highly valued antiquities.
“Their gesture will enable the SCTA to conduct exhibitions with these antiquities and conduct studies on them,” Prince Faisal said.
The Saudis honored were: Abdul Majeed Al-Khereji, Shadid Al-Anazi, Ahmed Al-Masoud, Muhammad Al-Nazawi, Dr. Awad Al-Zahrani, Ali Al-Saeed, Ahmed Al-Horaiqi and Abdul Qader Nouh.
The eight Saudis handed over the antiquities to the SCTA following a call made by Prince Sultan to both Saudis and expatriates to return Saudi antiquities to the commission for preservation.
Meanwhile, Prince Sultan visited the Madinah Municipality and met with Mayor Khaled Taher and senior officials. During the meeting, he discussed a number of issues related to tourism and antiquities in the region. “Madinah is expected to witness tremendous progress in various sectors,” Prince Sultan said. He praised the municipality for its support for developing historical sites in the province.
Prince Sultan discussed new tourism projects with officials in Madinah, including the Oyoun farms, the protection of existing heritage, the third national heritage conference in Madinah and a workshop on how to construct buildings using stones from Madinah.