عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

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
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

As Baboons Become Bolder, Cape Town Battles for Solutions

A group of baboons move through the main shopping street of Simon's Town outside of Cape Town on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
A group of baboons move through the main shopping street of Simon's Town outside of Cape Town on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

As Baboons Become Bolder, Cape Town Battles for Solutions

A group of baboons move through the main shopping street of Simon's Town outside of Cape Town on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
A group of baboons move through the main shopping street of Simon's Town outside of Cape Town on October 31, 2024. (AFP)

On a sunny afternoon in Cape Town's seaside village of Simon's Town, three young chacma baboons cause a commotion, clambering on roofs, jumping between buildings and swinging on the gutters.

Enchanted tourists stop to photograph the troop crossing the road. Locals are less impressed: it's a daily scene in the charming village nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain National Park.

About 500 chacma baboons -- among the largest monkey species and weighing up to 40 kilos (88 pounds) -- roam the peninsula south of Cape Town, says the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

And as human development pushes up the mountain into their natural habitat, the animals are increasingly entering plush properties to forage in gardens and take the pickings from the bins. Some manage to sneak into houses where they can wreak havoc.

Many locals are fond of the creatures, giving them pet names and following their daily adventures on social media.

But others are increasingly frustrated.

"They've become so bold now. They're more domesticated than they should be," said Duncan Low, 60, who runs an ice cream shop.

The intruders have even started raiding kitchens and grabbing food from plates in restaurants. "They're on a sugar and fast-food rush," Low said.

In 2021, the city put down a notorious alpha-male monkey who had terrorized residents with more than 40 raids for food in rubbish bins, from lawns and porches, sometimes entering homes while people were inside.

- Monkey management -

Tension between humans and baboons is "the highest it's ever been", said ecologist Justin O'Riain, who directs the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa at the University of Cape Town.

A baboon on the edge of a wild and an urban area is "the most difficult animal in the world to manage", O'Riain said.

"They are strong, they can climb... and they can learn from each other: there's no landscape that they can't conquer."

As human settlement of the Cape has expanded, the baboons have been "pushed higher and higher up the mountain" where foraging conditions are harder, O'Riain added.

The lush gardens that people have built, with fruit trees and swimming pools, are tempting attractions.

The City of Cape Town, in partnership with park authorities, has for years run a program to manage the marauding monkeys that relies on teams of baboon monitors.

They employ a primarily non-lethal approach, O'Riain said.

However, some techniques, such as firing paintball guns to keep troops away or culling a particularly problematic animal, have come under fire.

Amid an increasingly emotional outcry, vociferous campaigner Baboon Matters announced court action against the city and parks authorities in May for failing to implement what it considers more acceptable control measures, such as baboon-proof fencing and bins.

Facing criticism and funding limits, the authorities said the baboon management program would be wound down by the end of the year as they investigate other "more sustainable urban solutions".

It will however remain in place through December -- a particularly busy month for tourists -- but with fewer rangers, it said.

"We're going to lose our first line of defense," O'Riain said, with more baboons already entering urban areas often at risk to their lives.

- Deaths highest in 10 years -

Thirty-three baboons were known to have died between July 2023 and June 2024, the highest number in 10 years, city authorities say.

Nearly half the deaths were caused by human factors, including shooting with pellet guns, collisions with vehicles and dog attacks.

Coexistence with baboons should come with "a degree of human compliance", starting with managing food waste, conservation activist Lynda Silk, head of the Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation group, said.

"We don't need to be in competition with our natural resources: there can be ways that we can manage our lifestyles to minimize the negative impacts," she said.

For O'Riain, the only viable solution to the baboon battle is to erect fencing in certain areas that is made up of electric wiring and underground mesh to prevent the animals from digging underneath.

A prototype installed 11 years ago had shown great success, with almost no animals entering the area, he said. A 2023 report already suggested where the fencing should be placed.

"Baboons can come and forage right up to the edge of the fence and no one will disturb them," said O'Riain.

"It's a completely peaceful interaction, a win-win for people and for baboons."