The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), through its Saudi Memory Unit, is documenting the Kingdom’s oral history by transcribing Dr. Saad Sowayan’s recordings, which contain over 440 hours of Nabati poetry, folk tales, and Bedouin memory.

Collected during field expeditions between 1403–1410H, 280 hours of these recordings have been transcribed so far, amounting to 9,000 pages of oral heritage.

Supported by HRH Prince Turki AlFaisal, the Saudi Memory Unit also includes the Franklin Collection, comprising 397 rare video clips, currently being cataloged as part of a comprehensive digital archiving effort.

The Center has added the Gertrude Bell Collection (1914), featuring 310 rare photographs of Arabia, fully digitized and archived using the global Museum Plus system.