RIYADH: The Roads of Arabia exhibition was inaugurated at Tokyo National Museum on Monday by Saudi Ambassador to Japan Ahmed bin Younes Al-Barrak.
Roads of Arabia is a 466-piece archaeological exhibition that showcases the rich civilization, history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula in general and of Saudi Arabia in particular. The artifacts range from prehistoric and pre-Islamic periods to the reign of King Abdulaziz, and some are on display for the first time.
“The prestigious exhibition was opened on behalf of the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), Prince Sultan bin Salman, by the Saudi ambassador to Japan,” Majed Al-Sheddi, director general of media relations at SCTH told Arab News on Tuesday.
“Prince Sultan has sponsored the opening ceremony of this 13th edition of the exhibition on foreign soil, and it has been inaugurated in cooperation with the museum administration and the Saudi Embassy in Tokyo,” he added.
Saudi Aramco has contributed to the cost of the exhibition, which will enable visitors to enter free of charge, Al-Sheddi added. Roads of Arabia is a joint initiative of Saudi Aramco’s King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture and the SCTH.
Tokyo is the third Asian stop for the exhibition. Since its launch on July 13, 2010 at the Louvre in Paris, the exhibition was hosted by 10 museums in Europe and the US, before moving on to its Asia tour, first in Beijing in 2016 and then in Seoul in mid-2017, from where it moved to the National Museum in Riyadh as part of the first Saudi Archaeology Forum in November last year.
Al-Sheddi claimed the expo has received considerable attention in Japan, where it is the largest exhibition of its kind to introduce the antiquities of Saudi Arabia and the civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula.
After Japan, Roads of Arabia will be staged in Istanbul before moving on to the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the latter part of the year.
‘Roads of Arabia’ expo opens in Tokyo
‘Roads of Arabia’ expo opens in Tokyo
