Khuzam Palace Museum

Khuzam Palace Museum is a Saudi museum housed in the historic Khuzam Palace in the Al-Nuzlah Al-Yamaniyah district southeast of the city of Jeddah, within the Makkah Region. It is one of the royal palaces in which King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud resided, and its surroundings house the Jeddah Regional Museum. [1] King Abdulaziz ordered the construction of the palace in 1928 and it was completed in 1932, its construction having taken five years. [2]

The historic Khuzam Palace stands in the Al-Nuzlah Al-Yamaniyah district southeast of the city of Jeddah, and its name is derived from the spread of the khuzama plant in the area on which it was built. [2] It is the first palace built by the Founding King Abdulaziz and the first building in the city of Jeddah whose construction used cement and iron. [1]

Khuzam Palace was built by order of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in 1928 and was completed in 1932 in the heart of the city of Jeddah, its construction having taken five years. [2] The palace was built of hard limestone cut from the Red Sea coast, the main material then used in the construction of buildings in the city of Jeddah, together with batha stone, cement, sand, reinforcing steel and timber. [2]

King Abdulaziz used Khuzam Palace as a diwan where he received state guests, senior officials and members of the public. [2] On 29 May 1933 the palace witnessed the signing of the first and most important oil exploration concession agreement between the Saudi Government, represented by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sulaiman on behalf of King Abdulaziz, and the Standard Oil Company of California, represented by Lloyd Hamilton. [2]

Khuzam Palace also witnessed the signing of reciprocal memoranda with Egypt on some urban projects on 29 July 1940, a treaty of friendship and good neighbourliness with Kuwait, and the renewal of the Treaty of Jeddah with the British Government in 1943, alongside a trade agreement with Syria, the Dhahran Airport agreement with the United States of America, and a treaty of friendship with Pakistan. [2]

The palace has three facades: the southern one overlooks the Al-Nuzlah Al-Yamaniyah district, the northern one overlooks the Eid prayer ground, and the western one overlooks the Al-Sabeel area. [2] It consists of two floors and annexes on the southern and western sides, and is surrounded by a wall about three metres high. [2] The palace has two entrances: the Great Khuzam Palace Gate, made up of two facing towers identical in architectural and decorative design, which opens towards the Makkah road (the northern side), and the Lesser Khuzam Palace Gate, smaller than the former, which opens onto King Khalid Road. [2]

King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud used the palace as administrative offices until 1963, when it was attached to the guest palaces and some facilities were added to it, and the image of its main gate was placed on the paper currency in 1955. [2]

Khuzam Palace passed to the Agency of Antiquities and Museums at the Ministry of Education and was converted into a museum in 1981 at the direction of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; the Agency restored part of the front section of the palace, and it opened in March 1995 while preserving the architectural character of the building. [2] Part of the palace was turned into a museum, furnished and equipped with exhibits representing all historical eras, arranged scientifically from prehistoric times through the Islamic eras to the modern age. [2]

The museum contains six halls. The first hall begins as soon as one enters the museum; it is a foyer holding, on the visitor's right, a Quranic verse illustrating the relationship between religion and archaeological studies, an introductory panel on the museums of the Kingdom, and images of the Two Holy Mosques after the expansion in the era of King Fahd, in addition to a traditional fishing boat showing the importance of the marine wealth in the life of the residents of Jeddah. [3]

The King Saud Hall holds his private wooden library and the items it contains from among his possessions, including his seat, his walking stick, his telephone, his swords, among them the curved sword used in the Ardah, a tea set of porcelain in white and dark blue, paper and metal coins struck in his era, his medals and decorations, and stamps, documents and correspondence between King Abdulaziz and King Saud when he was Crown Prince, alongside about 70 photographs in the corridor gathering images of him with heads of state and official delegations. [4]

Another hall is devoted to folk heritage and holds traditional clothing and heritage silver jewellery from some regions of the Kingdom, everyday living tools such as cooking utensils and their vessels, coffee pots, the iron, weapons, and writing tools such as the inkwell and the writing board, as well as some leather products and handicrafts made of palm fronds. [4] In the museum courtyard there is a group of large rocks bearing rock engravings of animals once common in the Obhur Al-Shamaliyah area; they were moved to the courtyard and date to the Stone Age. [4]

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage signed a contract for the execution of museum studies and designs and the engineering documents for the Khuzam Palace project in Jeddah Governorate, within the new system of specialised museums, after completion of the engineering documents for converting Khuzam Palace into a historical museum, with an execution period estimated at 300 working days. [5]

The historic Khuzam Palace in Jeddah hosted the second stop of the Red Palace exhibition, organised by the Ministry of Culture, from 8 June to 18 July 2019. [6] It was chosen as its venue in appreciation of its national value, as it was the first residence of King Abdulaziz in Jeddah and a witness to the signing of the first oil agreement between the Kingdom and the United States in 1933. [6]

Q: Where is Khuzam Palace Museum located? A: In the historic Khuzam Palace in the Al-Nuzlah Al-Yamaniyah district, southeast of the city of Jeddah, in the Makkah Region. [1]

Q: When was the palace built and when was it completed? A: King Abdulaziz ordered its construction in 1928, it was completed in 1932, and its construction took five years. [2]

Q: What agreement did the palace witness in 1933? A: The first and most important oil exploration concession agreement between the Saudi Government and the Standard Oil Company of California, on 29 May 1933. [2]

Q: When was the palace converted into a museum? A: It was converted in 1981 at the direction of King Fahd, and it opened in March 1995. [2]

Q: How many halls does the museum have and what do they contain? A: Six halls, including the King Saud Hall and the folk heritage hall, in addition to the rock engravings in the museum courtyard. [3][4]

Khuzam Palace Museum brings together a historic building ordered by King Abdulaziz, which he took as a diwan for receiving state guests, senior officials and members of the public [1][2], and halls displaying holdings that represent the successive historical eras. [3][4] Related topics on the platform include Historic Jeddah, the Saudi National Museum and the Al-Tayebat Museum.