Tourists Care about Heritage, not the Arab: Archeologist

I am unhappy for seeing the Arab turn deaf ear to antiquities and museums, said Mohammad Abdul-Hady, professor of heritage restoration at the University of Cairo, in an interview.

Resalah: Have you found any difference between the KSU and other universities you have visited?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: First, I was a visiting professor at number of universities of Bari in Italy; Lausanne in Switzerland; Marrakech in Morocco, and Achen in Germany. Despite I visited many, I sensed that the there are different approaches when tackling archeology. However, basics of identifying archeology were the same.

Resalah: What have you lectured about?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: I gave three lectures, the first of which was on restoring and maintaining the muddy buildings of Qasr Islamic city in Dakhlah oasis in Egypt. I talked about the physical and mechanical features of heritage samples made for restoration purposes. In the second lecture, I talked about how peoples cherish their heritage buildings since they mirror their civilization development. I turned over the pages of history, and gave examples that cities buildings went different from one another in uses. I gave example of Cairo as being the first Islamic capital that has various antiquities.

Resalah: What about the third lecture?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: It was about restoring woody ornamented antiquities. The attendance appreciated it so much. This reflected how far the attendance interacted with restoring antiquities.

Resalah: What about cooperation between Cairo University and the KSU?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: Representing Cairo University, I will conduct a number of training sessions and workshops for exchanging expertise.

Resalah:  What about Deriah development project?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: Deriah is of a unique heritage. It has better muddy houses than those in Egypt. Egypt has not full muddy house as Deriah which still retains its genuine stamp. The engineers working in the project working the right way.

Resalah: What is your impression about the National Museum?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: It is a proud for Saudis and is not less than any European museum. However, tourists largely visit it, not the Arab. This is what I dislike in any Arab museum.

Resalah: What for?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: The Arab traditions consider heritage remains of polytheism, and the youth care about the present and future, turning deaf ear to the past.

Resalah: What are the solutions?

Dr. Abdul-Hady: Curricula should implant the culture of heritage into mind of the youth. The officials should make awards for researches on heritage.