RIYADH — The Saudi Ministry of Culture announced the launch of a landmark project to map and document the historic Saudi sites where renowned Arab poets of the pre-Islamic era lived or were associated with them throughout history. The project will work to document these sites in various regions of Saudi Arabia and facilitate access to them through installing sign boards linking these heritage sites associated with these poets and introducing salient features of their poems, especially the so called “Suspended Odes” in the history of Arab culture. The project, which is part of the “the Year of Arabic Poetry 2023” initiative, will be carried out in collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, and Ministry of Transport, in addition to the mayoralties of the designated cities and regions. The project covers documentation of several sites spread throughout Riyadh where famous poets were born and lived. These poets include Laila Al-Akhiliya, Majnun Laila, Imru’ Al-Qais, and Labid bin Rabi’ah. The project documented several sites in Al-Qassim region such as Al-Shanana Tower in the city of Al-Rass, which was associated with the poet Zuhair bin Abi Salma. The documentation also includes a number of cities and regions across the Kingdom such as Al-Baha, Al-Ahsa, Taif, Hail, Madinah, Asir, and Najran. The project will document the path through which the most famous Arab poets crossed throughout history such as the poets Al-Shanfari, who was born and brought up in the village of Salaman; Al-Saltan Al-Abdi, who lived in Jabal Al-Buraiqa; Tarafa bin Al-Abd in Jabal Al-Qara; Ali bin Al-Muqarrab Al-Ayouni in Al-Oyoun Park and Al-Nabigha Al-Dhibani who was associated with Souk Okaz. The historic sites also include the homes of the poet Hatem Al-Ta’i in Hail, the poet Hassan bin Thabit in the battlefield of Uhud, the poet Al-Khansa’ in Madinah, the poet Abd Yaghouth Al-Harthy, who lived in a site that currently includes Prince Jalawi bin Abdul-Aziz Park in Najran, and the poet Ibn Al-Dumina, whose home was in the historic city of Al-Abala in Asir. Through this project, the Ministry of Culture aims to confirm the central position enjoyed by Saudi Arabia in Arab culture and document the sites of Arab poets in the Arabian Peninsula throughout history. The project will also work to draw attention to these historical sites and enrich them with cognitive and indicative content that will increase their value to visitors from within the Kingdom and abroad. ReplyForward Add reaction