TAIF: Guests visiting the famous Al-Shareef Museum in Taif are transported back in time as the museum’s artifacts, furniture, and paintings take them on a journey to the olden days.

Visitors wandering around the halls of the privately owned museum get to learn about the history of the region over the past century, an experience complemented by information from specialized tour guides, who are licensed by the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA).

For more than 30 years, the owner of the museum has traveled across the Kingdom collecting various artifacts to place inside the facility, which features 6,000 square meters of floor space. 

The buildings were constructed out of old stone with jittering rain gutters that emerge from the rooftop. Visitors will also discover different wooden doors ornamented with iron frills, which give the buildings an architectural style of the past along with the lanterns that hang on each house to light up the museum alleys.

The museum’s market features gifts, antiques, and clothes which represent traditional folk costumes. In one corner of the market, a number of craftsmen, sculptors, carpenters, and tailors can be found working on various projects as they are always keen on offering souvenirs to visitors.

All of these unique features qualified Taif governorate to be among the 11 tourist destinations announced by the Saudi Tourism Authority through the “Visit Saudi Arabia” platform. The authority launched the Saudi Summer Program 2021 under the slogan “Our Summer, Your Mood,” from June 24 until the end of September.