Saudi Gazette report AL-KHARJ — A citizen has asked the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) to pay him a monthly salary to run his private museum, Al-Hayat newspaper reported. Saleh Al-Mousa established his one-room private museum in 1994 in Al-Selmyah village, north of Al-Kharj governorate, outside Riyadh. As his collections began increasing, he kept adding rooms to exhibit the artifacts. His museum now consists of seven rooms, spread out over two floors, and has a collection of more than 1,500 artifacts. The first hall is a reception area where Al-Mousa exhibits old coffee pots, an old radio, books about the Kingdom's history and a visitors' register. Other rooms hold hats made out of palm tree fronds, leather artifacts and photos of old cars from the 1950s and 1960s, some of which were used by King Abdulaziz, copper and stone artifacts, old rifles, swords, daggers and several pieces of jewelry. “The first pieces I collected were wooden doors and windows. The most expensive piece I have is a rifle that my father had bought for SR10,000,” Al-Mousa said. He said he obtained a license from the SCTA to operate his museum five years ago. He said he needs financial support to help maintain the museum, which he claimed to have cost him SR1.5 million so far. “I spend around SR5,000 a month on maintenance and salaries for employees. All I am asking for is the support of businessmen and a monthly salary from the SCTA to help me meet these expenses,” he added.
