Riyadh photo exhibition to chronicle king’s life

Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, a member of the board of directors of the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Riyadh, will open a photo exhibition of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Sunday. The exhibition will showcase 192 photos covering various phases of the king’s life and activities, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. One of the most beautiful pictures dating back to the 1960s shows him on a hunting trip, while another features him performing Haj. The exhibition will also feature his photos in the company of world leaders. They include former President of the United States Gerard Ford in 1974, Spanish King Juan Carlos in the 70s, former US President Richard Nixon when he visited the Kingdom in 1973, and group photos with Queen Elizabeth of Britain when she visited Jeddah in 1979. In another impressive picture the king is watching a replica of the headquarters of the National Guard in the company of his brothers King Khaled, King Fahd, Prince Sultan and Prince Salman and Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Anqari at the end of 70s. Photos from the 1980s include the king with former US President Ronald Reagan, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the late King Hassan II of Morocco, the late Jordanian King Hussain bin Talal and former Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat. In another photo the king is seen with his son Prince Muhammad. The photos also include the king scanning for truffles in a desert in Hafr Batin in 1997. A cover photo from Times Magazine is also showcased. Other rare photos show the king carrying water to an old visitor at the National Guard’s office, visiting poor districts in Riyadh and speaking with locals. Recent photos include the king opening the Riyadh conference of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2007, his address to the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation in Makkah in 2008 and a speech at the United Nations in Nov. 2008. They also include his address to the London summit of the G20 in 2009, while another show him addressing the international interfaith dialogue in Madrid in 2008. In another picture the king is seen praying at a palace overlooking the Red Sea in Jeddah. His opening of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology in 2009 also can be viewed in the exhibition.