Hail Regional Museum...A Tour Through Time During 'Saudi Winter'

The exterior design of Saudi Arabia's Hail Regional Museum - Asharq Al-Awsat
The exterior design of Saudi Arabia's Hail Regional Museum - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Hail Regional Museum...A Tour Through Time During 'Saudi Winter'

The exterior design of Saudi Arabia's Hail Regional Museum - Asharq Al-Awsat
The exterior design of Saudi Arabia's Hail Regional Museum - Asharq Al-Awsat

Hail Regional Museum has been garnering more attention since it was highlighted among the Saudi Winter’s list of private sector tourist sites.

The museum, whose identity is influenced by the Hail urban and heritage identity, is home to antiquities and its other historical items from the governorate. They are displayed according to their chronological sequence, starting with the prehistoric era, then the epoch of the first civilizations that settled in each region, and finally with the modern era. The historically comprehensive exhibit features various crafts and traditional industries, and it is designed to attract audience of all ages.

Around 1,500 square meters large, the museum has many sections. A section of the museum is dedicated to Hail’s geology, with samples of its rock formations on display, accompanied by explanation of their chronology and the region’s natural diversity.

The museum, with its beautiful art pieces, unique historical objects, ancient scripts and artifacts, is a significant addition to the cultural and art scene in the region that gives visitors the opportunity to stroll through different eras and learn about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s civilizational heritage.

The museum has several halls, each of which exhibits a diverse “historical narrative.”

The hall dedicated to Hail’s history and geology shows samples of rocks from the region, with a focus on metallurgy sites, mines and the region’s botany and zoology. Visitors can also go to the pre-Islamic era in the hall dedicated to it, which starts from the stone ages and ends with Jahiliya; this hall includes tools and pottery, as well as inscriptions and engravings, from the stone age.

As for the Hail Through History Hall, it exhibits paintings, texts, pictures and scripts. And the region’s heritage, with its traditional industries, is on display in Hail Heritage Hall, as are its folkloric clothing, jewelry, cooking utensils and agricultural tools... as well as other components of local heritage. Education also has its own hall; the Education in Hail Hall tells the story of the first schools to open in the region and an array of old books, films and letters.

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage included over 17 sites in its Saudi Winter campaign, which offers over 300 touristic experiences provided by over travel and tour agencies so that visitors can discover the Kingdom’s diverse geography and attractive winter climate.



Man Meets His Biological Family 75 Years after Being Adopted

Over the weekend, Handshaw flew to Rochester, New York, where he met some of his half-siblings ahead of the family’s annual Christmas party. (Facebook)
Over the weekend, Handshaw flew to Rochester, New York, where he met some of his half-siblings ahead of the family’s annual Christmas party. (Facebook)
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Man Meets His Biological Family 75 Years after Being Adopted

Over the weekend, Handshaw flew to Rochester, New York, where he met some of his half-siblings ahead of the family’s annual Christmas party. (Facebook)
Over the weekend, Handshaw flew to Rochester, New York, where he met some of his half-siblings ahead of the family’s annual Christmas party. (Facebook)

Dixon Handshaw thought he was an only child for most of his life. But decades after being adopted, the 75-year-old learned he has a handful of siblings, whom he met just in time for the holidays.

Over the weekend, Handshaw – who lives in North Carolina – flew to Rochester, New York, where he met some of his half-siblings ahead of the family’s annual Christmas party.

“All my life, I dreamed about having siblings somewhere,” Handshaw told CNN affiliate WHAM, which captured the siblings’ first meeting at the airport on Friday. “This is my Christmas miracle.”

On Saturday, Handshaw met over 50 relatives he didn’t know existed until earlier this year, he told CNN on Tuesday. The gathering, which included cousins and their children, was a welcome surprise for Handshaw, who was the only child to his adoptive parents and has no children of his own.

“I’ve never met anybody who shares my DNA,” Handshaw said. But as soon as he met his relatives they immediately clicked, Handshaw said. “It was wonderful,” he added. “I have never felt such an outpouring of unconditional love as I had from my new family.”

Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1949, Handshaw was adopted at three months old and had a happy childhood, he said, adding that his parents were honest about his adoption.

“I always wanted to find them, but New York State sealed the pre-adoption birth certificates, and it was impossible to find out,” Handshaw said.

In 2020, original birth certificates were unsealed for adopted New Yorkers following the passage of a 2019 law.

Right now, Handshaw and his siblings are making up for lost time, but their meeting is better late than never, he noted.

“I had great adoptive parents. They were wonderful. I love them and I miss them, but I always wanted siblings, and now I have them,” Handshaw told CNN. “I thought one or two would be great. I got six!”