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Saudi Initiative Digitizes Rare Manuscripts, A Treasure for Arab Enthusiasts

A rare manuscript preserved on the shelf of one of the libraries in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Libraries Authority)
A rare manuscript preserved on the shelf of one of the libraries in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Libraries Authority)
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Saudi Initiative Digitizes Rare Manuscripts, A Treasure for Arab Enthusiasts

A rare manuscript preserved on the shelf of one of the libraries in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Libraries Authority)
A rare manuscript preserved on the shelf of one of the libraries in Saudi Arabia (Saudi Libraries Authority)

A rare copy of the holy Quran dating back to the 13th century of the Islamic calendar is adorned with intricate decorations and gilded pages, totaling over 300 pages.

Other attention-grabbing manuscripts in the field of Islamic jurisprudence include a precious manuscript on the science of grammar by its author Muhammad Al-Rai, dating back to the year 1112 of the Islamic calendar, written in black ink, as well as another manuscript on the art of biography, narrating the life of one of the prominent figures in Islamic history, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, written in the Naskh script almost two centuries ago.

Thousands of these rare manuscripts and unique preserved writings are now meticulously numbered and digitally accessible to researchers and enthusiasts seeking a closer examination of the valuable treasures of Arab and Islamic heritage.

A valuable wealth of thousands of manuscripts sheds light on the richness of the Arabic library and its abundance in various arts, as well as the contributions of Arab and Muslim scholars.

These are presented by the “Manuscript Access Initiative” launched by the Saudi Culture Ministry’s Libraries Authority through a specialized online platform that enables researchers and enthusiasts to browse through numerous numbered manuscripts across diverse classifications.

In Saudi Arabia, 27% of Arabic Manuscripts Are Found

Rare manuscripts have been preserved on the shelves of national libraries in Saudi Arabia, which possess a vast wealth of knowledge encompassing more than 27% of the total original Arabic and Islamic manuscripts in the Arab countries.

These manuscripts are now easily accessible, allowing for a thorough examination of their intricately adorned details, embellished with the ink and intellectual contributions of scholars who enriched the Arab and Islamic library with diverse arts and knowledge.

Saudi Arabia enjoys a leading position in preserving and safeguarding rare manuscripts, as well as in valuing the treasures of Arab and Islamic heritage that reflect the efforts of pioneers in knowledge, understanding, and culture, with all their diverse arts and colors.

The Kingdom is recognized as one of the proactive and pioneering countries in preserving historical records, driven by its geographical location and historical presence, dating back to pre-Islamic times and spanning the Islamic eras.

Over time, the Kingdom has served as a profound source for Arab and Islamic civilization, a home to various civilizations, a cradle for divine messages, and a bridge connecting cultures and messages.

Saudi Leadership in Preserving Scientific Heritage

Efforts in Saudi Arabia are distributed across its specialized scientific, intellectual, and cultural institutions, which engage in the collection, restoration, and preservation of manuscripts.

These institutions also equip laboratories with state-of-the-art technologies for restoration and maintenance.

One prominent example is the General Administration of Acquisitions and Rare Books at the King Fahad National Library, which is responsible for the restoration of manuscripts, as well as the preservation of documents and rare items.

Moreover, another center dedicated to the restoration of manuscripts, documents, photographs, and rare books at the King Abdulaziz Public Library supports the preservation of maps, magazines, newspapers, as well as currencies, coins, and other heritage and historical materials.

It ensures their protection against damage and deterioration while maintaining a diverse range of historical artifacts in the library.

In turn, the Restoration and Conservation Department at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies carries out the same mission, ever since its first experiments in the field of manuscript restoration in 1984, under the supervision of a group of experts from the UK.

In 2005, King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the new headquarters of the King Abdulaziz Foundation.

This facility supports its efforts in serving history, preserving heritage, documents, and ancient manuscripts, and caring for them. The center's work extends beyond the preservation of the foundation's collections to the safeguarding of heritage held by citizens, public, and private libraries.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia supports the establishment of independent manuscript departments in most of its libraries, encouraging the study and publication of manuscripts through the support of postgraduate programs at universities, issuing specialized catalogs for manuscripts, and digitally making them available to researchers worldwide.

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Culture

Geisha Spectacle in Japan’s Kyoto Celebrates Arrival of Spring

Maiko (apprentice geisha) take part in a press interview ahead a rehearsal for the annual "Miyako Odori" -- which means "capital city dance" in Japanese, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
Maiko (apprentice geisha) take part in a press interview ahead a rehearsal for the annual "Miyako Odori" -- which means "capital city dance" in Japanese, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Geisha Spectacle in Japan’s Kyoto Celebrates Arrival of Spring

Maiko (apprentice geisha) take part in a press interview ahead a rehearsal for the annual "Miyako Odori" -- which means "capital city dance" in Japanese, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
Maiko (apprentice geisha) take part in a press interview ahead a rehearsal for the annual "Miyako Odori" -- which means "capital city dance" in Japanese, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan's Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of spring.

Dressed in sky blue kimonos emblazoned with flowers, the dancers twist and twirl in unison in front of hundreds of spectators eager to see the annual "Miyako Odori" in the nation's spectacular ancient capital.

Geishas, known as geikos in Kyoto, and apprentices called maikos have been donning elaborate costumes and fluttering fans since the Miyako Odori -- or "capital city dance" -- first started in 1872.

"Just as cherry blossoms bloom when spring approaches, the Miyako Odori is a spring tradition in Kyoto," Kyoko Sugiura, head of the Yasaka Nyokoba Gakuen, a school for geishas in Kyoto's Gion district, told AFP.

In Japanese, the word geisha means "person of the arts", and can refer to a woman or man trained in traditional Japanese performing arts.

In the popular imagination geishas are often confused with courtesans but their work as trained masters of refined old artforms does not involve selling sex.

Their performances are usually small and private, and take place at high-class establishments which operate a no first-time customer policy.

"That's why it is often thought of as a very exclusive world," Sugiura said.

"But the Miyako Odori is a one-hour show in which geisha and maiko have the opportunity to showcase the arts they practise daily," she said.

"Anyone and everyone with a ticket can enjoy the show."

The Miyako Odori began soon after Kyoto hosted Japan's first national expo -- an effort to revitalize the western city following the relocation of the capital to Tokyo in 1869.

The format of the performance has not changed much, Sugiura explained, although the music and dance moves are sometimes switched up.

Maria Superata, a geisha expert who has worked with them as an interpreter, explained that the show "combines all of the traditional performing arts that you can see in Japan".

"For example, elements from kabuki (classical Japanese theatre), elements from traditional dance. So they have to act, they have to sing, they have to play the instruments, everything all in one," she said.

"That's why it's so special."

But the number of geishas, who once made a living through performing for Japan's wealthy elite, is in decline.

Superata said that fewer young Japanese want a life that demands huge discipline and comes with a strict practice schedule.

"Nowadays, young Japanese people... are not very interested that much in traditional art and in kimono."

Culture

Danish Warship Sunk by Nelson’s British Fleet Discovered After 225 Years

Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP)
Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP)
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Danish Warship Sunk by Nelson’s British Fleet Discovered After 225 Years

Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP)
Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum, shows a metal insignia recovered from the wreck of Danish flagship "Dannebroge" that sank during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP)

More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.

Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 meters (49 feet) beneath the waves, divers are in a race against time to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the "Dannebroge" before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.

Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen, the museum’s head of maritime archaeology.

A great deal has been written about the battle “by very enthusiastic spectators, but we actually don’t know how it was to be onboard a ship being shot to pieces by English warships and some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck,” Johansen said. The Associated Press was the only international outlet given access to the site.

In the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson and the British fleet attacked and defeated Denmark’s navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the harbor.

Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal hourslong naval clash, considered one of Nelson’s “great battles.” The intention was to force Denmark out of an alliance of Northern European powers, including Russia, Prussia and Sweden.

At the center of the fighting was the Danish flagship, the Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer.

The 48-meter (157-foot) Dannebroge was Nelson’s main target. Cannon fire tore through its upper deck before incendiary shells sparked a fire aboard.

“(It was) a nightmare to be on board one of these ships,” Johansen said. “When a cannonball hits a ship, it’s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it’s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.”

The battle also is believed to have inspired the phrase “to turn a blind eye.” After deciding to ignore a superior’s signal, Nelson, who had lost sight in his right eye, reportedly remarked: “I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes.”

Nelson eventually offered a truce and a ceasefire was later agreed with Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik.

The stricken Dannebroge slowly drifted northward and exploded. Records say the sound created a deafening roar across Copenhagen.

Marine archaeologists have discovered two cannons, uniforms, insignia, shoes, bottles and even part of a sailor’s lower jaw, perhaps one of the 19 unaccounted-for crew members who likely lost their lives that day.

The dig site will soon be enveloped by construction work for Lynetteholm, a megaproject to build a new housing district in the middle of Copenhagen Harbor that is expected to be completed by 2070.

Marine archaeologists began surveying the area late last year, targeting a spot thought to match the flagship’s final position.

Experts say the sizes of the wooden parts found match old drawings. Dendrochronological dating, the method of using tree rings to establish the age of wood, match the year the ship was built. They also say the darkened dig site is full of cannonballs, a hazard for divers navigating waters darkened by clouds of silt stirred up from the seabed.

“Sometimes you can’t see anything, and then you really have to just feel your way, look with your fingers instead of with your eyes,” diver and maritime archaeologist Marie Jonsson said.

Chronicled in books and painted on canvases, the 1801 battle is deeply embedded in Denmark’s national story.

Archaeologists hope their discoveries may help reexamine the event that shaped the Scandinavian country and perhaps uncover personal stories of those who went into battle on that day 225 years ago.

“There are bottles, there are ceramics, and even pieces of basketry,” Jonsson said. “You get closer to the people onboard.”

Culture

Priceless Ancient Golden Helmet Stolen from Dutch Museum Is Recovered

A police officer stands by a stolen artifact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
A police officer stands by a stolen artifact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
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Priceless Ancient Golden Helmet Stolen from Dutch Museum Is Recovered

A police officer stands by a stolen artifact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)
A police officer stands by a stolen artifact from Romania, the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, recovered in Netherlands, is shown during a press conference in Assen, Netherlands, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aleksandar Furtula)

A priceless ancient golden helmet from Romania stolen last year from a museum in the Netherlands has been recovered, Dutch authorities announced Thursday.

Under the guard of heavily armed, balaclava-clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilization, during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen.

“We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It has been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”

The helmet was on display at the small museum in January 2025, the last weekend of a six-month-long exhibition, when thieves broke in and grabbed it, along with three golden wristbands.

There were fears the helmet may have been melted down because its fame and dramatic studded appearance made it virtually unsellable.

Two of three missing armbands were also recovered as part of a deal prosecutors reached with three men arrested for the heist shortly after it occurred. Their trial will begin later in April.

Fahner said the search for the remaining armband would continue.

The helmet did not return unscathed.

“The helmet is slightly dented, but there will be no permanent damage,” Drents Museum director Robert van Langh said during the news conference. “The armbands are in perfect condition.”

Thieves used a homemade firework bomb and sledgehammer to break into the museum. Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.

The theft put a strain on relations between the Netherlands and Romania

Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year called the incident a “crime against our state” and said recovering the artifacts “is an absolute priority.”