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Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi on Track for Completion in 2025

DCT Abu Dhabi reaffirmed that Saadiyat Cultural District, along with its cultural institutions, is on track for completion in 2025. WAM
DCT Abu Dhabi reaffirmed that Saadiyat Cultural District, along with its cultural institutions, is on track for completion in 2025. WAM
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Saadiyat Cultural District Abu Dhabi on Track for Completion in 2025

DCT Abu Dhabi reaffirmed that Saadiyat Cultural District, along with its cultural institutions, is on track for completion in 2025. WAM
DCT Abu Dhabi reaffirmed that Saadiyat Cultural District, along with its cultural institutions, is on track for completion in 2025. WAM

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has reaffirmed that Saadiyat Cultural District, along with its cultural institutions, is on track for completion in 2025, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

Saadiyat Cultural District is a global platform, emanating from a rich cultural heritage, celebrating traditions, and advancing equitable culture. It is an embodiment of empowerment, showcasing museums, collections, and narratives that celebrate the region’s heritage while promoting a diverse global cultural landscape, WAM said Wednesday.

Once completed, the diversity of Saadiyat Cultural District’s institutions will make the district one of the most unique cultural platforms. It is already the home of Louvre Abu Dhabi – the first universal museum in the Arab world – showcasing artworks from different cultures side by side and telling a story of human connections. Since opening in 2017, Louvre Abu Dhabi has welcomed 5 million visitors and is recognized for its breathtaking architecture and its innovative narrative. Nearby, Berklee Abu Dhabi offers music, performing arts and educational programs throughout the year.

Additionally, Manarat Al Saadiyat serves as a center for creative artistic expression and is home to two significant initiatives in Abu Dhabi’s cultural calendar: Abu Dhabi Art and Culture Summit Abu Dhabi.

The current construction progress of the soon-to-open institutions in Saadiyat Cultural District stands at 76 percent. Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the United Arab Emirates, will celebrate the nation’s rich history and culture, as well as honor the legacy of the country’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Additionally, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi invites visitors to an ever-changing exploration that will transcend the limits of their imagination.

It will be joined by the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which will include a research and teaching institution that will take visitors on a 13.8 billion-year journey through the story of our universe and our planet, WAM said. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be a museum celebrating art from the 1960s to the present and the most important artistic achievements of our time.

Saadiyat Cultural District pays homage to the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed, who defined the cultural agenda and unveiled the history of the UAE to the world through archaeological excavations and findings. This legacy began with the establishment of Al Ain Museum, the first museum in the UAE, which opened in 1971. This was followed by the inauguration of the Cultural Foundation in 1981. Sheikh Zayed’s legacy continued to evolve under the guidance of the late Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Today, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, continue to build on that legacy.

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Culture

Riyadh Art Expands Collection with Works by Italian, Indian Artists

Riyadh Art's permanent collection now comprises 75 artworks across the capital - SPA
Riyadh Art's permanent collection now comprises 75 artworks across the capital - SPA
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Riyadh Art Expands Collection with Works by Italian, Indian Artists

Riyadh Art's permanent collection now comprises 75 artworks across the capital - SPA
Riyadh Art's permanent collection now comprises 75 artworks across the capital - SPA

Riyadh Art has announced the installation of two new works in its permanent collection: "Run Beyond" by Italian artist Angelo Bonello and "Family Tree" by Indian artist Subodh Gupta, reflecting Riyadh's continued transformation into an open-air museum woven into the fabric of daily life.

The two works carry complementary themes—the first exploring movement and progress, the second evoking memory and human connection, together expressing a city undergoing rapid transformation while preserving its human and cultural dimension, SPA reported.

Riyadh Art's permanent collection now comprises 75 artworks across the capital, with new works planned for 2026, featuring artists from 47 countries alongside Saudi artists, making it one of the largest public art initiatives globally.

Culture

Saudi Heritage Commission Uncovers 1,774 Archaeological Finds in Madinah Region

The survey recorded 156 new archaeological sites. (SPA)
The survey recorded 156 new archaeological sites. (SPA)
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Saudi Heritage Commission Uncovers 1,774 Archaeological Finds in Madinah Region

The survey recorded 156 new archaeological sites. (SPA)
The survey recorded 156 new archaeological sites. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's Heritage Commission concluded the second season of archaeological survey work in Al Mahd Governorate, Madinah Region, documenting 1,774 archaeological discoveries across three survey areas: Al Suwayriqiyah, Al Muwayhiyah, and Hadhah, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The survey recorded 156 new archaeological sites, yielding 461 Islamic inscriptions, 34 Thamudic inscriptions, 1,259 rock art panels, 11 stone structures, three historical palaces, two caravan routes, and four wells.

Among the most notable finds are rock inscriptions bearing the name of Omar bin Al-Khattab, alongside Arabic poetry engraved on rock faces, significantly elevating the site's cultural and historical value.

The commission stressed its commitment to continuing survey and documentation programs, in support of Saudi Vision 2030's objectives to preserve cultural heritage across the Kingdom.

Culture

Between Homer and Hollywood: Troy a Source of Turkish Pride

This photograph shows a general view of the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in Canakkale on June 2, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a general view of the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in Canakkale on June 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Between Homer and Hollywood: Troy a Source of Turkish Pride

This photograph shows a general view of the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in Canakkale on June 2, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a general view of the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in Canakkale on June 2, 2026. (AFP)

A gift from the film set of "Troy", a giant Trojan Horse replica looms over the port of Canakkale on the Dardanelles Strait in western Türkiye.

First related by Homer, then retold for the silver screen in 2004, with Brad Pitt as Achilles, the legend of the ancient city travels to Rome's Colosseum this week, where a major new exhibition opens on Friday.

Keen to showcase the city's Anatolian roots, Türkiye has loaned out more than 220 artifacts that will be on show at the exhibition, "Troy and Rome", which runs until mid-October.

"When you read Homer, you don't get a very clear idea of the Trojans' identity. But at the time of the Trojan War, they were certainly among the Anatolian peoples," said Reyhan Korpe, deputy head of the Troy excavations and an ancient history expert at Canakkale University.

Located on Türkiye's Aegean coastline, the remains of Troy are a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site comprising 185 hectares (457 acres) of stones and crumbling ramparts dotted with poppies and scampering squirrels.

For 30 years, Korpe has walked every inch of this huge site, whose layers tell the story of nine different settlements, the remains of their ramparts intertwined and layered on top of one another.

This photograph shows a view of the ancient theater in the ruins of the ancient city of Troy in Canakkale on June 2, 2026. (AFP)

- Western flank of the east -

"I spent a whole year just walking through the stones, maps in hand, trying to understand how they fit together," he told AFP.

His passion is evident for the site, which was founded in 3,000 BC and was constantly inhabited until being abandoned in the sixth century AD.

"It was the most western part of eastern civilization," which is what gave Troy its significance, Korpe said.

The Trojan War, which took place around 1,200 BC and lasted 10 years, until the siege and the city's defeat -- parts of which are recounted in the Iliad -- "was the first confrontation between the East and the West", he said of the Anatolian world and its Greek equivalent, referring to it as "the first world war".

It is an idea with strong resonance in these wooded hills, which several millennia later witnessed the World War I battles of 1915, when Allied troops suffered a bloody defeat trying to seize the Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire.

A tourist takes a selfie photograph in front of the Trojan Horse, which was donated to be displayed at Canakkale Square following the release of the movie “Troy” in Canakkale on June 1, 2026. (AFP)

- Luwian hieroglyphics -

Of the hundreds of artifacts Türkiye has loaned to the Rome exhibition, more than 100 come from the Troy museum, some of which will be on display for the first time.

One piece is a bronze seal marked with hieroglyphics that was discovered in 1995, which offers important clues about the city's Anatolian roots.

"It's the only trace of writing found at Troy that was written in an Anatolian language, which proves that the first language spoken there was that of the Luwian peoples," explained museum director Sinem Duzgoren.

The Luwians were an ancient people who lived in western and southern Anatolia during the Bronze and early Iron Ages, whose language played a major role in the Hittite empire.

- From Wilusa to Ilion -

Although Troy was not a Hittite city, it was part of the Hittite empire, which referred to it as Wilusa. That became Ilion for the Greeks -- or Ilios for Homer.

"These pieces may not be the most spectacular, but they are the most important from a historical point of view, because they bear witness to the history of Troy," Duzgoren told AFP.

Also sent to Rome are a large number of weapons for use in war -- stones for use in a sling, knives, spears and arrowheads.

"These weapons are mentioned in the Iliad and date from the same period that they were mentioned by Homer," she said.

But it is a reality that is a far cry from the epic, romanticized fighting that plays out in Wolfgang Petersen's "Troy" (2004).

Apart from bequeathing the 12-ton replica of the Trojan Horse looming over Canakkale's waterfront, the film did a lot to fuel renewed interest in Troy, Korpe said.

"Neither the producers nor the director came here, even though that was when we made some of the most significant discoveries," he said sadly.

"But the number of tourists did grow, even if they were just looking for traces of Brad Pitt among the ruins!"