JEDDAH, 20 December 2005 — Crown Prince Sultan yesterday instructed authorities to restore the centuries-old Osaifreen Mountain in Madinah as part of the government’s efforts to protect historic monuments across the country.
Prince Sultan’s intervention came after municipal authorities started demolishing the site, which is part of the region’s history. There was a mosque near the mountain where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed.
“The crown prince has issued instructions to keep Osaifreen Mountain as it was after appropriating the land from its current owner,” Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed told the Saudi Press Agency.
The governor said Prince Sultan stopped demolition of the historic site in response to the demand of people living in the area who wanted to protect the site.
The Madinah Municipality had caused another controversy when it pulled down the Aqiq Valley Bridge, part of the historic Hejaz Railway, in August this year. Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), had then said that the demolition of the bridge was an unacceptable mistake.
There are some 1,000 tourist sites in Madinah with Islamic monuments representing about 50 percent.
