Cairo: A Saudi man has turned part of his house into a museum displaying a collection of rare items acquired over the years amid growing interest in the country in national and cultural heritage.
Mukhalid Al Shariri has set up the museum in his house in the city of Tabarjal in northern Saudi Arabia.
“Most items are acquired from our folks — my father, mother and forefathers,” he told Saudi TV Al Ekhbariya. He added that most of the pieces on display are rare and bought sometimes at high prices.
“The museum contains 1,500 antique items, including a 55-year-old sewing machine that belonged to my mother. An instant camera owned by my father more than 45 years ago. I have also a sword that is more than 35 years old,” he said.
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Saudi media has recently shed light on citizens fond of collecting vintage items and exhibiting them.
Maher Al Ghanem is one of them. He has collected around 250,000 artefacts dating back to different eras and watershed events over more than five decades.
Located in Al Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, his museum houses pieces, which date back to thousands of years as well as weapons wielded in epoch-making wars.
8-metre-long copy of Quran
“We have many items including a World War I gun, some pottery utensils which are thousands of years old and precious stones,” Al Ghanem said.
He added that the facility boasts an 8-metre-long copy of Quran as well as a miniature of the sacred text.
The museum also displays the first TV set introduced into Saudi Arabia in the 1950s when Saudi oil giant Aramco started operations.
Other interesting items on show include radios manufactured in the 1930s and 1940s, added Al Ghanem, who recalled that owning a radio in the past required a government licence. He displayed, a copy of this licence.
In addition, the museum displays items from the Gulf War including shells, bullets and soldiers’ dried food as well as helmets from the World War I and II.
