Visitors at the Jeddah Heritage festival which concluded on Saturday have requested Jeddah Municipality to keep museums open all year round which would help people in getting to know about the history of the city.

Mohammed Masrahee, a visitor from Dammam, said the festival was wonderful in every sense, especially the unique and old pictures of historical Jeddah, people and the Red Sea.

“Lot of people couldn’t visit the historic district of Jeddah, particularly because of over-crowding. The municipality should keep the museum and historical buildings open for anyone to visit any time of the year, as they are planning to push for inclusion of the area in the World Heritage list of UNESCO,” he said.

He said even the knowledge stalls and guides should be there all the year round like it is done for visitors to Turkey’s historical sites. “Guides are always available to guide visitors and give them all the information in different languages. I think it would be good to keep these historical museums and old houses open, which embody our heritage,” he said.

Khalid Al-Awas, a visitor from Riyadh, said he came with his family to spend quality time and spring vacation in Jeddah. “Despite the lack of time, we were keen to visit the historic district of Jeddah. I feel this area should be converted into an open air museum,” he said, adding that the museums should be kept open all year round.

“This will also help in economic development, besides letting the world know about the history of Jeddah,” he added.

Another visitor Omar Al-Mukarm from United Arab Emirates, who came to perform Umrah, said this is not the first time he has visited Jeddah, but it was his first glimpse of the historical area of Jeddah.