RIYADH — Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission is all geared up to republish the works of late French Professor Thierry Mauger, who documented aspects of culture and life in the Southern Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the 1980s.

These works will be launched Tuesday evening at a ceremony in Diriyah, in the presence of a delegation from the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, Asir Development Authority, and a number of officials from Jazan region, researchers and interested individuals.

The ceremony will include a dialogue session with Saudis who accompanied the professor on his trips, displaying a selection of books pictures through interactive screens provided by the commission, in addition to digital screens dedicated to browsing the books.

Professor Mauger is one of the most prominent researchers and ethnographers. He has important books documenting his life in the Southern Region of Saudi Arabia, as he collected information from his numerous journeys between villages and cities in the south of Saudi Arabia since the beginning of 1979.

He adored authentic Saudi culture and moved to live in Asir region, where he devoted himself to studying the art of architecture and engraving in it. He left Asir in 1991, but he returned to the region on three trips in 1994, 1996, and 1998, in order to continue his studies and research on the region and its historical legacy and civilization.

He documented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s heritage and civilization photographically, with a total of about 10,000 photographs that were published in books.

Through republishing the works, the commission aims to revive his works and transmit them again in the Arab Library, in addition to highlighting the efforts of international researchers interested in Saudi culture, as these works document and publish the Saudi culture regionally and globally.

This step is also in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Culture aimed at reviving, preserving and highlighting the national heritage by taking care of rare international publications that were on the Saudi culture. — SPA