Saudi Heritage Commission Registers 41 New Historical Sites in Taif

King Abdulaziz Palace in Taif (SPA)
King Abdulaziz Palace in Taif (SPA)
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Saudi Heritage Commission Registers 41 New Historical Sites in Taif

King Abdulaziz Palace in Taif (SPA)
King Abdulaziz Palace in Taif (SPA)

The Saudi Heritage Commission has registered 41 new archaeological and historical sites found in Taif governorate in the National Antiquities Register, as part of the commission’s efforts to discover, document, record and preserve Saudi Arabia’s heritage and historical sites.

The most prominent sites are King Abdulaziz Palace in Al-Muwayh, Suleiman Mosque, Abdullah bin Abbas Mosque, the city center of Taif, and Souk Okaz. In addition to palaces and traditional houses, as well as villages, castles, museums, towers, mosques, markets, and historical schools.

Jasser Al-Harbash, CEO of the Heritage Commission, affirmed that the Commission was taking steps toward discovering and documenting historical sites in all regions of the Kingdom, registering them in the National Antiquities Register, archiving and digitizing them, and then adding them to an advanced digital record.

The commission aims to build a special database for registered archaeological sites. It has also called on the public to report any newly discovered historical locations through the Balagh platform.

A nationwide conservation strategy has been established by the commission covering four categories: antiquities, urban heritage, handicrafts, and intangible cultural heritage.

The International Day for Monuments and Sites, also known as World Heritage Day, is celebrated each year on April 18, including in Saudi Arabia.



Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
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Greece to Build Escape Port on Santorini as Quakes Continue

FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People board a ferry to Piraeus, during an increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo

Greece will soon set up an evacuation port on the island of Santorini to facilitate the safe escape of people in case a bigger quake hits the popular tourist destination, a Greek minister said on Monday.
Santorini, a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, has been shaken by tens of thousands of mild quakes since late January, forcing thousands of people to flee, and authorities to ban construction activity, and shut schools and nearby islands.
No major damage has been reported but scientists have said the seismic activity was unprecedented even in a quake-prone country like Greece and have not ruled out bigger tremors.
They have identified the main ferry port at the foot of a precipitous slope and other sites across Santorini as weak links, although they have not said they cannot be used in an emergency situation, Reuters reported.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Greece will build an evacuation port for the safe docking of passenger ferries until a new port infrastructure is in place.
"Along with the new port in Santorini which is being prepared, there was a decision for setting up an escape port on the part of the island where passenger ferries would be able to dock in an emergency," he said in an interview with Greek ANT1 television.
Although the tremors lessened over the weekend, local authorities extended emergency measures for a third week on Sunday and reiterated calls for people to stay away from coastal areas and steep hillsides prone to landslides.
"This story is not over," Costas Papazachos, a seismology professor, and a spokesperson for the Santorini quakes told public broadcaster ERT.
"Both authorities and habitants should get used to a rather unpleasant situation for some time, it could be another two, three months."
Santorini took its current shape following one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, around 1600 BC.
Seismologists have said the latest seismic activity, the result of moving tectonic plates and magma, has pushed subsurface layers of the island upwards.