Saudi Arabia has many ancient archeological sites that reflect its deep history. These sites include palaces, castles and mosques. Riyadh, Makkah, Al-Madinah, Tabuk, Al-Baha, Asir, Ahsa, Najran and Al-Jouf are all teeming with breath-taking and mesmerizing archeological sites. In a report published recently, Al-Riyadh daily listed most prominent of them. The city of Al-Diriyah, Al-Ghayet Heritage Village, the National Museum, Al-Aflaj, Barmah Cave and Al-Thumamah are some of the fascinating sites in the Riyadh region. In the Makkah region, in addition to the various sites of religious importance in the holy city, there is the Historical Jeddah, Al-Sabb Dam and Al-Maadin Village while in Madinah the most famous archeological site is Madain Saleh, which was proclaimed as the Kingdom's first World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008. In Tabuk, there is Tabuk Castle, Al-Hamraa Palace and Taymaa Area while in Najran has the Ditch, Historical Palace and Raoom Palace. Al-Jouf has the Old Emirate Palace, Al-Ayshan Palace, Old Dowmat Al-Jandal Palace and Zabal Area. The Ditch Muhammad Al-Hatilah, a well-known historian from Najran who enjoys a strong reputation among the people of the southern Saudi city, believes the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) has not covered all the archeological sites in the region, which is replete with many heritage sites. "We asked the SCTH three years ago to build a fence around the Ditch but it has not taken any action so far. The fence will preserve the Ditch as an archeological site with historical significance," he said. Inside the Ditch, one can see engravings on the walls and names of caravans that passed by it and other historical symbols as well. He also said the Kingdom has an advantage over neighboring countries in terms of the number of archeological sites. He expressed hope that the Najran province would be given more publicity in the media because many Saudis are unaware of the great historical sites in the region. Promoting tourism Write Masadah Al-Yami called on the SCTH to hold annual tourism festivals where people from Arab and European countries can get a glimpse of the great heritage and archeological sites the Kingdom has to offer. Such festivals can provide a platform through which the Kingdom can introduce others to its heritage and tourism sites and learn about other cultures and history as well. "We need to raise public awareness on the important historical sites in the country because everyone needs to know their country's history. We can also hold contests for documentaries and give awards to the winning documentary that unravels the archeological sites of a certain region," she said. Fayez Al-Khushaif, a literary critic, agreed that the Kingdom has great potential for tourism and can attract locals and foreigners eager to explore its heritage sites. "We see thousands of Saudis travel abroad during the summer to enjoy tourist attractions in different countries. We need to enhance our tourism sector and make it more popular and desirable among the general public," he said. Teacher Noura Al-Shammary believes that most members of the public are not interested in visiting the Kingdom's archeological and tourism sites due to a lack of information available on such sites. "If we look around us, we will see that most countries, even those which have few archeological sites, focus on tourism sites and work hard to attract others to visit them but we don't do that in the Kingdom," she said.
