We had the opportunity to visit the beautiful cultural hub “King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture” also known as “Ithra”. This center is located in Dhahran which is in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. In fact this place is considered as the the same place where the first oilfield was discovered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As per the facts disclosed at this center, the main objective of setting up this cultural center by Saudi Aramco is to stimulate the creativity, knowledge among the individuals/society and signify the importance of culture in providing the social economic benefits. According to the Time magazine (2018 edition), this cultural center was listed in the world’s 100 greatest places in the “To visit” category.
We visited the beautiful “Energy Science Exhibition” Hall. The exhibition shows the key innovations in the field of Oil and Gas technologies (Through posters and Prototypes) and its role in transforming the kingdom (KSA). Unfortunately, we did not got the permission to visit the IMAX theaters which were screening documentaries and film screenings at that time. As per the theater policy, the minimum age set to visit the theater was 5 years and we were travelling with our kids (Ages: 2 and 3 years old). They have a separate section dedicated for the Library with many books in both English and Arabic language. The staff in the library section is very helpful in guiding the visitors and assisting them in locating the the books.
The tickets for this attractive cultural center can be booked through its website. Usually, it is very crowded during the weekends (Friday and Saturday). They do periodically arrange entertainment shows, technical exhibits, Film screenings in this center and all the related event details will be published on their website. The interested people can reach this place either by their personal cars or through ride hailing taxis (Uber/Careem/Rental Taxis).
