A visitor to Late King Faisal's Palace in Riyadh is greeted by four elderly men. Abdulfatah Abdulateif Ahmad, Abdulrahman Al-Suleiman Al-Sari and Sayed Ahmad Hafith served the late King Faisal. Today they look after the palace. They sit quietly, with their heads down, one eye busy with their prayer beads another one keeping a watch on the entrance. They can't recall their ages. Sayed Ahmad Hafith served the late King for 61 years. Born in northern Sudan, Sayed was brought to King Faisal as a boy and served him in Taif and then came to Riyadh when Faisal ascended the throne. “Sayed has been here the longest as old as the palace itself,” said Abdulrahman Al-Suleiman Al-Sari, palace keeper for the past 20 years. After the death of the late King Faisal, Sayed continued to serve Princess Effat, King Faisal's wife. “I used to be his personal servant, taking care of his clothes and belongings,” recalled Sayed. Every once in a while Sayed would get up to close the palace door, as a guest would enter. “The palace is the same as it used to be,” said Sayed. “Even the furniture is the same, they only re-upholstered the sofas.” Abdulfatah Abdulateif Ahmad, also from Sudan, served the late king for 55 years. “I am in charge of the catering and serving the guests,” Ahmad told the Saudi Gazette. Even at this old age Ahmad supervised the serving of juices, coffee and pleasantries during the visit of President of Boeing International to the palace Sunday afternoon. The King Faisal Foundation is currently restoring the palace's first floor to convert it into a museum and the second and third floors for the administration department of Al-Faisal University. __
