The newly renovated King Abdul Aziz historic arbor in the Al-Kharj municipality is now open to the public and welcoming local residents to their favorite leisure activity ground.

Located in Al-Salmea district, the arbor was established on the endowment farms of Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al-Saud in 1918.

The local municipal authorities under the supervision of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) have completed the renovations of the historic arbor within its projects which aim to rehabilitate historic sites and landmarks across the Kingdom.

“The seating area has been expanded and raised above the ground level in addition to reconstructing the mud building using wooden columns spread over an area of 100 square meters to make it more attractive,” an SCTA official said.

He added that the heritage site’s mud walls, gates, seating area and wells have been restored with paved pathways in addition to the planting of trees.

Imad ul Haque, a faculty member at the University of Al-Kharj, applauded the renovation work saying that it was a beautiful addition to the leisure sites in the municipality. “The locals are really happy with the new look of the arbor,” he said.

An SCTA official said that this project comes under the tourism commission’s efforts in the Al-Kharj municipality to restore historic sites and coincides with the opening of its local branch during the next few days. He added that the SCTA had a number of projects under way including the renovation of Al-Kharj Springs and its surrounding area with a view to transform it into a public park.

King Abdul Aziz Arbor is of great historic importance due to its being a summer resort for the late King Abdul Aziz, founder of the Kingdom.