Prince Sultan said the king has shown much interest in mosques, particularly historic ones in Al-Diriyah and Jeddah The “National Program for the Care of Historic Mosques” has now been retitled “National Program for the Restoration of Historic Mosques” The historic Hanafi Mosque, which is being renovated at the expense of King Salman, will open next year, Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), has announced. Prince Sultan said the king has shown much interest in mosques, particularly historic ones in Al-Diriyah and Jeddah, given that they represent the crossroads for people five times a day and bring people closer. The prince announced that the “National Program for the Care of Historic Mosques” has now been retitled “National Program for the Restoration of Historic Mosques,” noting that the term restoration has a broader meaning than care, for the goal is to rebuild mosques with prayer. He revealed that Almia’mar Mosque is the third historic mosque that has been restored at the expense of King Abdul Aziz, after the historic Tabab Mosque, the first historic mosque built in the era of the Saudi state in Asir, and the historic Al-Shafei Mosque in Jeddah. Prince Sultan said that more than 3,000 historic mosques were located and 200 are being restored throughout the Kingdom, 10 of them in Jeddah. He said a number of students of Islamic architecture and engineering had participated in the restoration works. SCTH is fully committed to create a new generation of citizens capable of restoring historical and archaeological sites, he added. The restoration of mosques aims not only to rebuild the places but bring people back to these places as well, the prince said. Prince Sultan announced the launching of the implementation of four projects in mosques in Jeddah: The restoration and rehabilitation of Al-Hanafi Mosque at the expense of King Salman; the restoration of Uthman bin Affan Mosque at his own expense; the restoration of Al-Jilani Mosque at the expense of Anas Sairafi; and the restoration and rehabilitation of 13 historic mosques with a donation from the National Commercial Bank. The prince revealed that the National Program for the Restoration of Historic Mosques throughout the Kingdom has located more than 1,140 historic mosques, restoring and rehabilitating 80, listing the priority target mosques (130 historic mosques) and signing 57 cooperation agreements with a number of bodies, charitable institutions and donors to restore and rehabilitate the target historic mosques.