The “Roads of Arabia” expo that was inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran is expected to tour Southeast Asian countries, starting with the Chinese capital Beijing on Dec. 20.

The expo has achieved a good reputation among international museums in American and European cities since it was first launched at the Louvre, Paris in 2010.

The success lies in the number of visitors, which exceeded 3 million in the gallery’s nine locations, and the media coverage that accompanied it, which has contributed to showcasing the Kingdom’s history and heritage.

The gallery is a remarkable milestone in the Kingdom’s history and civilization.

The royal approval, in March 2015, for the exhibition to continue on different continents provided a renewed support for the gallery and its message.

The showcase started in nine locations, of which four were in Europe — the Louvre in Paris, the Acacia Foundation in Barcelona, the Hermitage in Russia and the Pergamon Museum in Germany.

The exhibition then moved to the United States, at the Sackler Museum in Washington, the “Carnegie” Museum in Pittsburg, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

This gallery is important in improving awareness of the cultural heritage of the Kingdom.

It aims to show the world the history of the Arabian Peninsula and Saudi Arabia, as well as to promote cultural exchange between peoples. The exhibition also highlights the fact that Saudi Arabia is not new as far as history is concerned. It is the cradle of great civilizations of humanity that was crowned with the great civilization of Islam.

Through 400 rare exhibits, this gallery shows part of Saudi Arabia’s culture, legacy and different historical eras.

The rare pieces exhibited at the gallery cover the period that extends from the Paleolithic to the age preceding Islam, and the civilizations of the early, intermediate and late Arab kingdoms.

The exhibition also shows the impact of old trade routes that crossed the Arabian Peninsula and the economic and cultural exchanges between different civilizations.

[vuukle]