Monumental Journeys: Arabian Peninsula
WMF's travelers visited Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in January 2025.
date & time
While on WMF’s Monumental Journeys trip to the Arabian Peninsula, our travelers explored three countries: Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula holds one of the most diverse depositories of cultural, religious, and linguistic heritage in the world, and over nine days, we immersed ourselves in a multitude of different cultures that have existed here at the crossroads of ancient civilizations.
Throughout this journey, we visited cultural heritage sites of great significance to the development of our modern world, as well as heard from scholars and cultural experts who have dedicated their careers to uncovering the past of this region and preserving it for generations to come. One of the many experts we met was Noura Al Sayeh, architect, director of Bahrain’s Pearling Path, and current advisor on cultural and heritage policies to the country’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities. Sayeh's work led her to head the “Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy” project at UNESCO in 2015, which received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The Arabian Peninsula is not only a special place for world history but also an important foothold for WMF. From the Grand Mosque of Kuwait to the Shaikh Ebrahim Center in Bahrain to the historic cities of Jeddah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia, the journey we took together highlighted some of the most vibrant anchors of world heritage in the region.
Key trip activities included:
- Expert-led tour of the Amricani Cultural Centre in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- Presentation by a local scholar at the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- Exploration of the ancient Dilmun civilization at the National Museum of Bahrain and a visit to burial mounds.
- Special sound and light presentation at Qal'at al-Bahrain and expert-led tour of Qal’at al-Bahrain Site Museum in Manama, Bahrain.
- Guided tour of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with Biennale Artistic Director Amin Jaffer.
- Walking tours of Historic Jeddah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
- Guided Saudi Arabian site visits to Hegra, Jabal Ikmah, and Elephant Rock.
- Exploring AlUla’s old town in Saudi Arabia.
- Artisan demonstrations of the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and Turquoise Mountain in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
WMF’s Monumental Journeys are available to members of our International Council as a part of WMF’s exclusive Travel Program.
Monumental Journeys: Arabian Peninsula
WMF's travelers visited Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in January 2025.
date & time
While on WMF’s Monumental Journeys trip to the Arabian Peninsula, our travelers explored three countries: Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula holds one of the most diverse depositories of cultural, religious, and linguistic heritage in the world, and over nine days, we immersed ourselves in a multitude of different cultures that have existed here at the crossroads of ancient civilizations.
Throughout this journey, we visited cultural heritage sites of great significance to the development of our modern world, as well as heard from scholars and cultural experts who have dedicated their careers to uncovering the past of this region and preserving it for generations to come. One of the many experts we met was Noura Al Sayeh, architect, director of Bahrain’s Pearling Path, and current advisor on cultural and heritage policies to the country’s Authority for Culture and Antiquities. Sayeh's work led her to head the “Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy” project at UNESCO in 2015, which received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The Arabian Peninsula is not only a special place for world history but also an important foothold for WMF. From the Grand Mosque of Kuwait to the Shaikh Ebrahim Center in Bahrain to the historic cities of Jeddah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia, the journey we took together highlighted some of the most vibrant anchors of world heritage in the region.
Key trip activities included:
- Expert-led tour of the Amricani Cultural Centre in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- Presentation by a local scholar at the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
- Exploration of the ancient Dilmun civilization at the National Museum of Bahrain and a visit to burial mounds.
- Special sound and light presentation at Qal'at al-Bahrain and expert-led tour of Qal’at al-Bahrain Site Museum in Manama, Bahrain.
- Guided tour of the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with Biennale Artistic Director Amin Jaffer.
- Walking tours of Historic Jeddah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
- Guided Saudi Arabian site visits to Hegra, Jabal Ikmah, and Elephant Rock.
- Exploring AlUla’s old town in Saudi Arabia.
- Artisan demonstrations of the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and Turquoise Mountain in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
WMF’s Monumental Journeys are available to members of our International Council as a part of WMF’s exclusive Travel Program.
WMF Projects in the Region
