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Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
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Cultural, Intellectual Destinations Inspire Riyadh International Book Fair Visitors

The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)
The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor during this edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair. (Saleh al-Ghannam)

The new edition of the Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF) is offering its audience millions of books and new titles from the Arabic library, and also offering a wide space for intellectual and cultural dialogues that revive the evenings of the Saudi capital with publishers, intellects, and content creators from all over the world.

The corridors of the fair were crowded thanks to its new location at the King Saud University, and its organization over an area of 50,000 sqm. People have been touring seamlessly to visit the pavilions of over 1,800 publishers partaking from 32 countries and displaying millions of titles. The setup also features halls for the training workshops and platforms for the discussion evenings, which look into various topics on the intellectual movement and the Arabic creativity.

The Oman pavilion... history and art

RIBF is hosting a folkloric Omani group that performs popular arts reflecting the diversity and richness of the country. The Sultanate of Oman is the guest of honor of this year’s edition of the fair. Its pavilion displays diverse aspects of thought, culture, literature, art, and heritage, and hosts seminars, poetry evenings and art shows in which partakes an elite of Omani novelists and intellects.

Mhanna al-Qamshoui from the Omani Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth, said the visitors flocked to the Sultanate’s pavilion right after the opening, looking to explore the rare Omani manuscripts, the art exhibition, musical shows, and VR presentation on the Sultanate, as well as a Majlis serving Omani goods and popular sweets.

Qamshoui added that the pavilion exhibits a collection of rare manuscripts that reflect the Omani cultural history and its role in the Arab world, the connections among Arab countries and people throughout history, and their civilizational role in advancing humanity and serving various scientific and cultural purposes.

Visitors of the Omani pavilion have been given the opportunity to enjoy a collection of rare manuscripts including the oldest ever, which was written in 1137. The pavilion is decorated with a mural inspired by the Jabreen Castle built by Bil'arab bin Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi in 1670.

Outdoor area... coffee and books

In the outdoor area, visitors can take a break in the coffee shops and partake in the intellectual discussions before resuming their tours.

The area also hosts theater shows and Saudi and Omani performances that entertain the visitors with cultural ambiances that highlight the historic connection between humans and books, and the significance of literatures for Arabs, as well as honoring the symbols of culture, thought, and poetry in the region.

Qamshoui announced that the Omani Orchestra will attend the RIBF in the few coming days to share its musical creativity with the Saudi audience, and expand the Omani experience in the heart of Saudi Arabia.

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Archaeological Town from Bronze Age Discovered at Saudi Arabia’s Khaybar Oasis

The discovery is proof of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding its cultural and historical heritage, as well as its desire to exchange knowledge and experience with the international community. (SPA)
The discovery is proof of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding its cultural and historical heritage, as well as its desire to exchange knowledge and experience with the international community. (SPA)
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Archaeological Town from Bronze Age Discovered at Saudi Arabia’s Khaybar Oasis

The discovery is proof of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding its cultural and historical heritage, as well as its desire to exchange knowledge and experience with the international community. (SPA)
The discovery is proof of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding its cultural and historical heritage, as well as its desire to exchange knowledge and experience with the international community. (SPA)

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) announced that archaeologists discovered a Bronze Age town in the Khaybar Oasis, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The discovery was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE and announced on Saturday at a press conference held by the RCU in Riyadh. The conference highlighted the significance of the discovery to the Kingdom's standing in the field of antiquities, as well as on its cultural richness.

The discovery is proof of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding its cultural and historical heritage, as well as its desire to exchange knowledge and experience with the international community, and promote awareness about the common human heritage, consistent with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

It also underscores the need to strengthen international partnerships, to present such a rich heritage to future generations globally.

The transition from a mobile pastoral life to a settled urban life in the region during the second half of the third millennium BC is illustrated by the discovery, which was made in the framework of the Khaybar Longue Durée Archaeological Project, led by Dr. Guillaume Charloux, researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, and Dr. Munirah AlMushawh, archaeological survey manager at RCU.

This change in paradigm challenges the previous notion that pastoral and nomadic society was the dominant socio-economic model in northwestern Arabia during the early and middle Bronze Age.

The research points out that regions such as Khaybar were significant urban centers that permanently maintained the stability of their communities, particularly with the introduction of agriculture. They also served as centers of trade and commerce for nomadic communities. The emergence of this urban design significantly influences the socio-economic paradigm of the region.

In the Bronze Age, the northwestern Arabian Peninsula was home to a significant number of nomadic pastoral communities, but the region also had a number of walled oases that were connected to one another and were located around fortified cities like Tayma.

The discovered town, called Al-Natah, provides evidence of a clear division, within forts and cities, of residential and funerary areas. The site encompassed an area of 2.6 hectares, was inhabited by 500 individuals between 2400 and 2000 BC until 1500 and 1300 BC. The Khaybar Oasis was surrounded by a 15-km-long stone wall to ensure its protection.

The study was conducted by the Royal Commission for AlUla in collaboration with the French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

The commission's Department of Archaeology, Collections and Conservation manages one of the largest archaeological research programs globally as part of its mission to elevate AlUla's status as a premier cultural heritage destination.

The Khaybar Oasis, located on the edge of the Harrat Khaybar volcanic field, formed at the meeting point of three valleys in a highly arid area. The remains of the town were discovered on the northern edge of the oasis, buried beneath layers of basalt rock for thousands of years.

The research team identified the archaeological site in October 2020, but distinguishing the structures and layout of the town proved challenging. In February 2024, the team employed field surveys, in-depth research, and high-resolution imaging to uncover more details of what lay beneath. Future excavations are expected to provide an even clearer understanding of the site.

The study offers an initial view of life in Al-Natah, where residents lived in traditional multi-story dwellings, typically using the ground floor for storage and the upper floors for living quarters. Narrow pathways ran between the dwellings, leading to the town center. Residents buried their dead in graves and tiered towers, signifying high social status by including valuable items like pottery or metal tools such as axes and daggers.

Town life was marked by skilled craftsmanship, with residents making pottery, trading it, working with metal, and adorning their clothing with beads. Their diet, based mainly on mutton, lamb, and grains, reflected a cooperative lifestyle, with the community reinforcing walls using dry stones and clay.

Besides Charloux and AlMushawh, historian Saifi Alshilali, a native of Khaybar, contributed to the discovery. The new findings add to a series of studies begun in 2018, which explore the history of ancient AlUla and Khaybar, including massive stone structures known as mustatils, stone traps, extensive funerary roads linking settlements and pastures, and stone circles used as dwellings.

Collectively, these studies reveal that Bronze Age societies in northwestern Arabian Peninsula were more sophisticated and interconnected with the wider region than previously believed.

RCU is currently supervising 10 archaeological projects, to which 100 archaeologists and specialists working in AlUla and Khaybar contribute.

This new discovery bolsters AlUla and Saudi Arabia's role as a global hub for archaeological research and cultural dialogue. It is announced immediately after AlUla World Archaeology Symposium 2024, which brought together archaeologists and cultural heritage experts from all over the world.

Themed "Moving Forward: Past, Present and Future in the Archaeology and Heritage of Mobile Communities", the symposium underscored AlUla's growing role in the global archaeological community.