JEDDAH, 17 July 2003 — City Mayor Abdullah Al-Muallami on Tuesday night opened a show of rare historical photographs at the Al-Sholla commercial center here. The exhibition on the first floor of the mall depicts Saudi Arabia’s culture and heritage as well as various landmark events of the past 150 years.
“Some of the photographs are so rare that most of us may not have seen them anywhere,” the mayor said.
Muhammad Al-Khateeb, chairman of the National Company for Amusement Projects and Tourism, said he selected 220 photographs for the show, which prominently features events from the time of the Kingdom’s founder King Abdul Aziz.
“All the photographs on show are from my own collection assembled over the last 14 years,” Al-Khateeb said. He traveled across the country and abroad to look for photographs on the Kingdom’s history.
“I went in search of books to a few countries. One particular book titled ‘Iraq in War Time’ took me to the United States and France, but I finally located it in Britain,” he said.
“Before the dawn of the Internet era, it was a wild goose chase. I used to talk to people and track down books anywhere,” Al-Khateeb said.
He said he had a total collection exceeding 600 rare photographs. “I propose to replace exhibits from time to time from my collection. I’ll also exhibit new historic photographs as I collect them in the future,” he said.
Exhibits include photographs from books and publications by Western and Arab authors.
