Royal Commission for Makkah Launches ‘Makkah Greets Us’

The event will host the Revelation and Route to Makkah Exhibitions - SPA
The event will host the Revelation and Route to Makkah Exhibitions - SPA
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Royal Commission for Makkah Launches ‘Makkah Greets Us’

The event will host the Revelation and Route to Makkah Exhibitions - SPA
The event will host the Revelation and Route to Makkah Exhibitions - SPA

In celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites launched the second annual “Makkah Greets Us” event in the Hira Cultural District.
The event, taking place until Monday, April 15 is expected to attract more than 15,000 visitors daily.
Visitors will enjoy more than 14 diverse programs tailored for all societal segments, including cultural, entertainment, and historic programs, SPA reported.
The event will host the Revelation and Route to Makkah Exhibitions, which display visual presentations of the descent of revelation and the Hajj routes over history.
Additionally, the event will feature folk art performances, falcon shows, and sound and light shows. It will host a dedicated area for the crafts market, children's activities, and various entertainment options.
Makkah Greets Us is held by the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, in cooperation with the Pilgrim Experience Program (PEP), the Holy Makkah Municipality, the Makkah Chamber, KIDANA development company, and AlBalad AlAmeen company.



UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
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UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.
UNESCO said the site, which dates back to the fourth century, had been put on the endangered list at the demand of Palestinian authorities and cited the "imminent threats" it faced.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP, referring to the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
In December, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" -- the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention -- to the site.
UNESCO had then said it was "already concerned about the state of conservation of sites, before October 7, due to the lack of adequate policies to protect heritage and culture" in Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.