RIYADH, 11 January 2007 — “Saudi Arabia is not about the big cities like Riyadh or Dhahran. Saudi Arabia is really about the small towns and beautiful villages.”

Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and chairman of the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA), expressed that idea to a group of law students from Harvard University who visited the center yesterday as part of their visit to different government institutions in the Kingdom.

Prince Sultan said he hoped the group would return to the Kingdom as tourists and see the different lifestyles of Saudis and their different colors.

“This is Egypt in the 19th century,” said Prince Sultan, describing the archaeological sites which are yet to be discovered. He said that American, British and German archaeological teams were now at work in the Kingdom.

The prince said that the Kingdom had many beautiful sites, deserts and mountains as well as the world’s best diving sites. The Kingdom, he said, was not just rich in natural assets but was also rich in culture, heritage, traditions and folklore.

“This country is not just beautiful in terms of nature and antiquity. It is also rich in culture. Saudi Arabia is made up of several nations, not one nation. And each nation is almost like a state of its own. People do not understand the unity of Saudi Arabia,” said Prince Sultan.

“Saudi Arabia is about people with vision, it is about believers. Many people do not know that to be a Muslim, you must believe in Jesus and Moses and the books of God,” he said.

Prince Sultan said that the Kingdom was dealing with its own “crazies” and “zealots” in its own way just as the United States and any other country dealt with their zealots.

He told a story about how an American family had welcomed him when he had to land his plane in a small Wyoming town because his compass was malfunctioning.

“When I asked the man, who was in his 70s and wore a farmer’s hat, to guide me to a place I could spend the night, he told me: ‘You can stay at my place.’ I spent two days fishing and hiking in the mountains with him,” he continued. “The family still lives there.”

Prince Sultan pointed out that both the United States and Saudi Arabia have negative and positive characteristics.

The prince said that the association for disabled children with its seven centers in the Kingdom employed “highly-educated” and “intelligent” women who were the backbone of its operations. He also said that the association’s mission was not merely to build new centers but to support more research on disabilities. The prince pointed out that the association had 110 founders and that in order to be a founder, the individual or institution had to contribute at least $1.5 million.

Hunter Pierson, a second-year Harvard law student, said he was interested in Saudi Arabia before visiting the Kingdom. He said at the time of 9/11, he was a teacher of ancient history and had explained to his students that the perpetrators of the act did not represent the majority of Muslims. “At the time I wanted to learn more about Islam,” he said. “I read the Qur’an in the summer and came on this trip when the opportunity arose.”

He voiced what seems to be a common feeling among those who visit the Kingdom. “I feel that I have learned a great deal about the country. I have had an opportunity to meet people who are liberals and others who are conservatives,” he said.

“I feel that I have learned that there is no one Saudi Arabian who thinks the same on different subjects. I have a new respect for the critical thinking on every aspect of the culture.”

He said his wife and family were concerned for his safety when he told them that he was visiting the Kingdom “but I find it safe here.” He also said the most common problem with American misconceptions of people in the region was that “they group everyone in the Middle East together and fail to make a distinction between Saudi Arabia and other places.”

The group was earlier received by Riyadh Governor Prince Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal at separate meetings.