A 60-day programme, conducted by Saudi Arabia’s National Urban Heritage Center (NUHC) and giving Saudi students comprehensive training in heritage renovation, has been completed by a class of graduates.

The series of training programmes led by NUHC, an affiliate of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), was undertaken by students of engineering and architecture from a number of Saudi universities, including King Abdul Aziz University, Al Qassim University and Dar Al-Uloom University.

The scheme concurs with the STCA’s ongoing initiative to promote awareness of the country’s national urban heritage.

Students have been taught techniques of mud construction and traditional ways of renovating heritage buildings, which they will then apply, taking up various responsibilities after completing the academic programme.

Traditional mud-brick houses and public buildings, many of which were abandoned more than three decades ago but have remained in fairly good shape thanks to the arid desert environment, are in the process of or have already been restored for use in a tourist environment, with offerings such as museums or hotels top of the list.

“How we live with history and how we employ this heritage is the issue at the heart of the matter,” said a senior official at NUHC speaking to arabnews.com. “The idea is not to merely change the city centres into museums or the heritage sites into venues for events. We wish to restore these sites that were filled with life at an earlier period in our history and utilise them to contribute to the local and national economy.”