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Saudi Museum Brings Together Over 60,000 Items in Home-like Atmosphere

Museum of Home Art in Jeddah - Asharq Al-Awsat
Museum of Home Art in Jeddah - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Museum Brings Together Over 60,000 Items in Home-like Atmosphere

Museum of Home Art in Jeddah - Asharq Al-Awsat
Museum of Home Art in Jeddah - Asharq Al-Awsat

Distinguished by unconventional display of its rare collections and exhibits, the Museum of Home Art has been drawing visitors to the Saudi city of Jeddah for more than 20 years.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the museum, which is home to many items that reflect Jeddah's cultural ancient heritage, from furniture to clothes and antiques.

The late Abdul Raouf Hassan Khalil, who founded the museum, was distinguished by his deep knowledge and passion for heritage and became a reference for Jeddah’s heritage until the day he passed away in 2008.

At the entrance, visitors are received at the exterior square, with its intricately designed stone and clay sculptures on the sides of the square. In the middle lie the replicas of the Two Holy Mosques and replicas of other ancient famous archaeological sites in Jeddah, all of which are marked by their distinctive Arab-Islamic character.

The museum has two floors, each of which floor contains antiques, replicas, and furniture from as far back as 70 years ago, as well as items dating back to the seventh century and the Stone and Bronze ages collected by the owner of the museum.

It is also home to the Holy Kaaba’s first kaswa (cloth covering the Kaaba), which dates back over 100 years, a variety of salons and council rooms replicating those of the Andalusian, Islamic and European civilizations.

Youssef Keeki, who manages the museum, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the museum came to be called the Museum of Home Art, “because it is home to exemplary homes and palaces of many Western and Eastern societies and interior designs for varied tastes."

He adds that "Abdul Raouf Khalil spent more than 45 years collecting and monitoring the museum which was launched to the public in 1999."

Many foreign tourists and locals flock to it annually, and it has become a place for admirers of decorative arts and furniture, as well as a site frequented by architecture and archeology students who study and attend lectures at the museum.

For her part, Faiza Al-Zahrani, the museum's guide, explains that “the museum contains replicas of paintings by French orientalists, such as Delacroix’s Women of Algier, plastic arts by international Lebanese artists, and the paintings by some of Saudi Arabia’s most famous artists, such as Fawzia Abdel-Latif and Ahmed Al-Maghlouth.

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Golden Eagle Soars over England’s Skies after Century and a Half of Absence

A golden eagle soars over Britain’s skies (Shutterstock)
A golden eagle soars over Britain’s skies (Shutterstock)
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Golden Eagle Soars over England’s Skies after Century and a Half of Absence

A golden eagle soars over Britain’s skies (Shutterstock)
A golden eagle soars over Britain’s skies (Shutterstock)

Golden eagles could return to England’s skies after an absence of more than 150 years, according to a study that identified eight areas capable of supporting populations of the species. The government has allocated about £1m for a reintroduction programme, according to The Guardian.

“The world is grown so bad that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.” So wrote Shakespeare in Richard III, in a line of social commentary that feels ever more relevant with age.

A note of good news then, in a world of so much bad, that the eagles the Bard was probably referring to could finally be reintroduced to England after more than 150 years.

The golden eagle, which was common in Shakespearean England – and which he mentioned more than 40 times, according to some scholars – has been largely absent from the country’s skies, with only a handful of pairs seen in the past 150 years.

The majestic bird of prey with a 2-metre wingspan has been effectively extinct in England since the last native golden eagle is thought to have died in 2015, having lived alone in the Lake District. Their decline was largely due to centuries of persecution from gamekeepers and farmers, who viewed them as a threat to lambs and game birds.

They are occasionally seen in areas such as Northumberland, crossing from southern Scotland where there is a growing population of the birds. But a study by Forestry England, published on Sunday, found that England now has the capacity to sustain golden eagle populations once again.

The paper identified eight potential “recovery zones” as the most suitable areas, mostly in the north of England, although it could take more than a decade until breeding populations are established in the area.

Satellite tracking indicates that some of these translocated birds have already begun to fly across the border and explore northern England, the government said. It is hoped the new funding will help to support these birds to settle south of the border, coupled with targeted reintroductions. Forestry England found that Scottish birds could be seen across northern England within 10 years, but it will take longer for breeding golden eagles to become established in England.

Mike Seddon, Forestry England’s chief executive, said: “The detailed findings of our feasibility study will guide us, with our partners, Restoring Upland Nature, to take the next steps to explore the recovery of golden eagles in northern England.”

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Myrrh Tree that's Key to Luxury Perfumes, African Incomes Threatened by Drought

Stephen Johnson gathers data on a large, healthy Commiphora myrrha tree, the source of myrrh, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Sanqotor, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Julianne Gauron)
Stephen Johnson gathers data on a large, healthy Commiphora myrrha tree, the source of myrrh, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Sanqotor, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Julianne Gauron)
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Myrrh Tree that's Key to Luxury Perfumes, African Incomes Threatened by Drought

Stephen Johnson gathers data on a large, healthy Commiphora myrrha tree, the source of myrrh, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Sanqotor, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Julianne Gauron)
Stephen Johnson gathers data on a large, healthy Commiphora myrrha tree, the source of myrrh, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Sanqotor, Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Julianne Gauron)

The critical note in some of the world’s most well-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that is under pressure from what experts say has been a historic drought.

Threatened by the lack of water and nibbled by starving livestock, the trees that once formed a dense forest in the Somali region of Ethiopia are in danger, locals say.

Earlier this year, researchers supported by the American Herbal Products Association, a trade group, and Born Global, a nonprofit, visited a source of the prized resin that makes its way to global markets from some of the most vulnerable places on earth.

Their goal was to ensure that those who harvest the resin get more of the direct profits instead of middlemen along the opaque supply chain, The Associated Press reported.

Ethiopia is a major source of myrrh, which has been used in beauty, health and religious practices since at least ancient Egypt. Traditional harvesting in the region has not changed, which helps to protect the trees and produces the highest quality resin.

Myrrh’s hand-harvested nature raises its price, but those doing the work see little of the profit. Collecting a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the resin brings as little as $3.50 and as much as $10.

That’s far from the prices for the perfumes it helps to create, which are marketed by well-known fashion brands like Tom Ford, Comme des Garcons and Jo Malone, and sold at prices as high as $500 a bottle.

Meanwhile, curiosity about myrrh’s other potential uses is growing with increased global interest in natural remedies.

For now, most myrrh from this part of eastern Ethiopia is purchased by traders from neighboring Somalia. Ethiopia collects no taxes on the goods.

Local residents hope more visibility will help them as the climate crisis threatens their ways of life.

“They expressed hope that a direct market would enable them to secure better prices, ensuring sustainable livelihoods,” said Abdinasir Abdikadir Aweys, senior researcher with the Somali Regional Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Research Institute and a member of the research team.

The researchers were led by Anjanette DeCarlo, an expert in sustainable supply chains and resins at the University of Vermont, and Stephen Johnson, resin expert and owner of FairSource Botanicals. They found that communities practice traditional harvesting by collecting resin from trees’ naturally occurring wounds instead of by making intentional cuts, which makes trees more vulnerable to pests and disease.

“Traditional practice is in balance and protects trees. It should be celebrated,” DeCarlo said.

But the drought worried the team. The annual rains have been failing over the past several years, interrupted in 2023 by devastating flooding.

The arid region has long seen droughts, but this one has been historic. Experts have blamed the changing climate.

Myrrh harvesting is threatened. While adult trees are generally healthy, they are producing less resin. And fewer young trees are surviving.

“Unfortunately, many seedlings are uprooted by children who graze their livestock nearby, and the animals often eat the buds of the young trees,” said a local elder, Mohamed Osman Miyir, adding: “We are deeply worried about the declining population of myrrh trees.”

Without proper rain, other young trees are likely to fail. DeCarlo worried that eventually even the adult trees will die.

Villagers’ days are spent hauling water for themselves and their livestock. Herders travel over the parched, cracked earth as far as 200 kilometers (125 miles) to Sanqotor village, which has a rare well with water.

“Guests water animals first, then the villagers,” said local headman Ali Mohamed, watching hundreds of livestock crowd around the well.

But not everyone has livestock — the poorest residents rely solely on tree resin like myrrh for their survival.

Varieties

In Europe First, Netherlands to Allow Teslas to Self-Drive

01 September 2025, Brandenburg, Gruenheide: The Tesla logo is seen on a vehicle at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. (dpa)
01 September 2025, Brandenburg, Gruenheide: The Tesla logo is seen on a vehicle at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. (dpa)
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In Europe First, Netherlands to Allow Teslas to Self-Drive

01 September 2025, Brandenburg, Gruenheide: The Tesla logo is seen on a vehicle at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. (dpa)
01 September 2025, Brandenburg, Gruenheide: The Tesla logo is seen on a vehicle at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. (dpa)

In a first for Europe, the Netherlands is poised to allow Tesla owners to use their car's self-driving feature -- as long as they are in the vehicle and keeping a watchful eye over it.

The country's RDW agency for roadworthiness certifications said in a statement late Friday: "Thanks to the type approval, the driver assistance system can now be used in the Netherlands, with possible future expansion to all member states of the European Union."

The move aligns the Netherlands with what is allowed in the United States, where Tesla owners can already use the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) (FSD Supervised) function in the cars.

That mode hands over driving to the Tesla's computer system, including steering, braking, route navigation and parking, all under the active supervision of the driver, who remains at the controls ready to take over if needed.

The European subsidiary of Tesla, the electric-vehicle company run by the world's richest person, Elon Musk, hailed the Netherlands' move.

"FSD Supervised has been approved in the Netherlands & will begin rolling out in the country shortly!" it said on X.

"No other vehicle can do this. We're excited to bring FSD Supervised to more European countries soon."

The Dutch RDW agency stressed the difference between FSD Supervised, with a human remaining at the controls, and full autonomous driving.

"A vehicle with FSD Supervised is not self-driving. It is a driver assistance system, and the driver remains responsible and must always maintain control," it said.

RDW's decision has to go to the European Commission for authorization, so that its national certification has EU weight.

Tesla sales have been facing headwinds in Europe -- including in the Netherlands -- in the last couple of years.

Potential clients have turned off by Musk's political activism supporting hard-right politics in the US and Germany, while the brand is also facing increased competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.