The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program is a national historical project concerned with the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the outcomes introduced by the Ministry of Tourism in one of the implemented initiatives within Saudi Vision 2030. It was established in 2014 after a Royal Decree was issued to create a national historical project that reflects the development of heritage programs and projects in the Kingdom.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program includes ten tracks. Each track involves a number of major projects amounting to about 230 projects. These tracks are as follows: maintaining Islamic historical sites, projects that care for historical mosques, registering and protecting ruins, implementing archaeological search and excavation, in addition to preserving heritage sites and developing heritage villages. Other tracks focus on establishing, rehabilitating, and equipping archaeological museums across the Kingdom, developing crafts and handicrafts, raising awareness of and identifying national heritage, attracting and developing necessary human cadres to administer the national heritage, and organizing cultural heritage events and activities in museums and archaeological sites.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program, which is financed by the National Transformation Program - one of the Saudi Vision 2030 projects - includes the establishment of eighteen museums across the Kingdom, preparation of eighty archaeological sites, restoration and rehabilitation of eighteen heritage villages and towns, and opening of seventeen centers for craftsmen.

The Ministry of Tourism supervises the implementation of the program, in partnership with a number of entities, most notably: the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah), the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of National Guard, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Ministry of Media, Saudi Aramco, al-Turath Charitable Foundation, and Saudi Heritage Preservation Society.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program aims to enhance citizens' knowledge of the history of their country and the epic story of its foundation. Moreover, the program aims to rehabilitate and activate the historical structures and palaces belonging to the reign of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, and transform them into cultural centers. The program also seeks to protect and preserve archaeological sites and display them locally and globally, in addition to restituting illegally exported items and providing special care to Islamic historical sites.

Furthermore, the program attempts to rehabilitate, prepare, and leverage archaeological sites and historical routes for general development, in addition to establishing, developing, and operating museums in provinces and governorates. It also aims to develop heritage villages, historical city centers, and traditional markets, preserve and enhance architectural heritage, promote crafts and handicrafts to provide work opportunities for individuals, and transform them into effective elements in the national economy.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program won an award for the best governmental initiative in the Kingdom for 2019, as well as the Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage in 2018 for best practices to preserve Arab cultural heritage.