More than 65 government and private libraries and organizations including libraries from abroad will participate in the 45-day event organized by KAFRA.

The Aramco-sponsored expo will showcase selected pieces from 3,000 original manuscript copies of works on various topics, including religious writings, linguistic compositions, literary works, history, astronomy and geography, said Secretary General of KAFRA Fahd Al-Samari in a statement to Saudi Press Agency on Friday. 

“This is the first of its kind organized by KAFRA with focus on manuscripts that reflect the intellectual achievements of the Kingdom in their original form,” Al-Samari said while expressing his thanks to Prince Salman for his patronage for the exhibition and other heritage activities of the foundation.

By organizing the exhibition, KAFRA aims to draw the attention of researchers to the original and rich sources of political history and intellectual activities of Saudi Arabia, he said.

He also thanked all organizations that supplied information about a large number of manuscript documents and bibliographies so that researchers might know where the documents could be accessed.

Al-Samari added that KAFRA is coordinating with the King Fahd National Library in organizing the event. The national library is the place where the manuscripts are officially preserved before and after the exhibition.

The major participants in the event include the Saudi Royal Court, which possess a large number of rare manuscripts, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, Imam Muhammad University and Aramco. The exhibition will also be an occasion for KAFRA to display the valuable manuscript documents under its possession, he said.