Al Maqar Museum for Civilization
Saudi Arabia has found traces of a civilization that was domesticating horses about 9,000 years ago, 4,000 years earlier than previously thought, said Ali Al-Ghabban, Vice-President of Antiquities and Museums at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities at a press conference here late Wednesday. The discovery of the civilization, named Al-Maqar after the site’s location, will challenge the theory that the domestication of animals took place 5,500 years ago in Central Asia, he said.
Muhammad Al-Meger’s dream
The village and Al-Meger palace is the brainchild of Mohamed Al-Meger, an explorer who travelled through many countries to gain wide and varied exposure in design and construction. As a result of his journeys, he was eventually able to realize his lifelong vision of constructing his eponymous village, which took more than 35 years to build and cost more than SR80 million.
Al-Meger palace
Muhammad used stone from the Asir mountains to build the palace, which was designed to incorporate hanging gardens through which geometrically-designed water fountains flow perfectly. The palace is also distinguished by its Islamic architecture, reflected in Andalusian drawings and Arabic and Kishani inscriptions on the walls.
Impressively, the sun enters the palace from all directions through more than 360 windows that are used to track solar movement inside the building. There are also seven domes representing each of the world’s continents, hundreds of columns representing the days of the year and inscriptions and artistic decorations reflecting the spirit of the Umayyad and Abbasid civilizations.
There is also a zoo and apartments overlooking the Tihama Mountains behind the palace to serve visitors coming from remote areas.
4461 – 67389 6592, Saudi Arabia
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