Photos| Hail Museums…a journey through time that tells the ancient history of heritage

On a journey through time, visitors to the Hail region’s museums experience the region’s past and its authentic heritage dating back to ancient times, on a journey that narrates the history of fathers and grandfathers and their means of coexistence, and shows their ancient heritage, traditional tools, and archaeological collectibles.
Museums constitute a window to the past that tells visitors the history of the people of the region through a unique and diverse collection of historical and heritage pieces and tools that represent the requirements and needs of that period.

Hail Museums

Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Hail, Dr. Samia Sulaiman Al-Jabri, says: “The importance of museums is to preserve heritage and protect it from extinction, and to introduce generations to their civilized and cultural heritage. They also provide an information-rich environment that helps enhance historical and scientific knowledge among international visitors and tourists coming from outside the Kingdom.” Whether they are students and researchers, or those interested in the archaeological cultural aspect, in addition to that, museums are a major distinctive tourist destination that encourages cultural tourism and enriches its visitors with a wide and diverse amount of… Rare heritage tools and pieces, which reflects positively on the local economy of the region.

She stressed the great interest of the wise leadership – may God support it – in strengthening the role of museums as civilizational and cultural centers that contribute to achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and consolidating national identity by highlighting the cultural and human heritage.

Cultural landmarks

Among those museums that the Hail region abounds is the “Al-Asala” Museum, which is considered one of the prominent cultural, heritage and tourist landmarks in the region. It contributes to introducing Arab and Saudi heritage, and displays artifacts and tools that shed light on the lives of previous generations, in addition to traditional furniture from traditional majlis. Heritage chairs and hand-made cabinets that were used in old homes.

The owner of the “Authenticity” Museum, Ali Bakhrisa, says: “The museum receives visitors from Arabs and foreigners, and enriches them through a variety of exhibits that shed light on the history and traditions of the Hail region, the most prominent of which are ancient heritage tools such as: pottery making, cooking tools, and hunting tools, in addition to To a group of traditional costumes worn by the tribes in the region, including men’s clothing, which includes the Sudairi, Daghla, Kut, and Bisht, matched by hand-embroidered and woven women’s clothing, which includes the Marwadun, The Daghla, the Sabah, the Burqa “face coverings,” and the “Daraa” that were worn by the women of Hail in the past, as well as a number of classic cars of various makes.

Unique collectibles

The museum, which according to Bakhrisa took 20 years to prepare through research trips inside and outside the Kingdom, contains a variety of traditional weapons such as swords, daggers, and old rifles, along with a collection of traditional jewelry and adornments that were worn by women on social occasions and are distinguished by their authentic heritage designs. In addition to the traditional houses that were prevalent in the region, unique in their designs and local building materials.

One of the famous museums in the Hail region is the “I Found a Trace of the Past” museum, which is a mud house dating back more than 100 years. Its owner, Khaled Al-Matroud, transformed it into a museum that includes a wide variety of unique collectibles distributed in the wings and corridors of the house with more than (2000) artifacts. In addition to the heritage councils, which are characterized by their ceiling height, which sometimes reaches 8 meters and a width of 15 meters, as an icon that belongs to the region in the method of construction of these councils that differ in their shape. In the summer and winter, in addition to the old Hail House, which is distinguished by its large number of rooms and courtyards, which provide natural ventilation through the palm, orange, and citron trees in the front.
The private museums of the Hail region attracted lovers of archaeological collectibles, and gained their approval. According to Fadi Al-Abdullah, one of the collectibles enthusiasts, they chronicle the details of a past era and merge them with the present as an inherent legacy linking the past to the present. Resident Antar Al-Kilani from the Arab Republic of Egypt believes that it allows learning about cultural heritage. And the history of the Kingdom in general and the region in particular through archaeological tools, in addition to conveying an image of the region’s past and the ways of living of its people, and how they adapted to… those time periods.