US mayors impressed by Saudi heritage

RIYADH: A delegation of American mayors visited the Masmak historical museum on Saturday. Upon their arrival to the venue, they were received by the director of the museum, Nasser bin Abdul Karim Al-Arifi, who briefed them how King Abdul Aziz, the Kingdom’s founder, unified the country and its people.
Later, the mayors toured the museum and saw its historical displays and maps. They also watched a documentary featuring difficulties King Abdul Aziz had gone through to restore Riyadh and unify the Kingdom.
They expressed their admiration of the museum’s heritage treasures when they wrote their comments in the visitor’s register.
This visit came in the context of an official program, developed by the Saudi Embassy in Washington in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for a number of American mayors to tour around Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, meeting with top Saudi officials, and visiting several outstanding Saudi archaeological sites.
Meanwhile, Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), met with the US delegation headed by James Bernard, the mayor of Carmel City, Indiana, at the SCTA headquarters in Riyadh.
Prince Sultan welcomed the delegation and introduced them to SCTA’s urban heritage projects, praising the special relations between Saudi Arabia and the US.
For his part, Bernard expressed his happiness for meeting with the prince and admired the Kingdom’s cultural improvement and heritage glory.