Image via The National
By the magnificent waters of the Red Sea is the port city of Jeddah, a place that has been a gateway and crossroads for centuries, welcoming people from across the world to its shores. This week, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture announced plans to launch a space that will speak of this rich and long history.
The Red Sea Museum is set to open in late 2022, and will be housed in the over 100-year-old Bab Al Bunt building in historical Jeddah. The space will be home to artworks, rare collections, manuscripts, publications, and photographs that highlight Jeddah as a historic city, one that has always drawn in visitors, pilgrims, and traders from every corner of the globe, many who stayed and became part and parcel of the city’s rich, diverse tapestry.
Bab Al Bunt image via Arab News
The museum’s location is said to be of great significance as it was historically known as Bab Al-Bunt port, the first point of entry for many people coming into Jeddah from the Red Sea. It also served as a place where pilgrims were provided health services before heading to Mecca, and, according to Arab News, it is the port where King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud set sail to Egypt to meet King Farouk 74 years ago.
The museum itself will be designed to highlight the city’s culture, diversity, geology, maritime history and traditions, commerce, and more. It will offer visitors fixed and temporary exhibitions, displaying artifacts, paintings and more, and it will also offer a schedule of educational programs for all ages.
Bab Al Bunt image via Arab News
The upcoming launch of The Red Sea Museum is seen as part of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program, one of the Realization Programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, designed to improve the life of the nation’s residents and citizens by developing an ecosystem to support and create new options that boost their participation in cultural, environment, and sports activities.
