National Museum inaugurates exhibition in Aleppo

Staff Reporter

Muscat, August 1

The National Museum’s exhibition ‘Illuminations from Oman’ began in the Syrian city of Aleppo last week. This inauguration came within the framework of cultural and museum cooperation between the National Museum and the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, according to the memorandum of understanding, which was concluded in Damascus on November 1, 2021. The exhibition, which was held in the Damascus National Museum, will be transferred to the Aleppo National Museum. The exhibition will be open for the public for six months.

The exhibition and the accompanying events were inaugurated by Dr Lubana Mushouh, Minister of Culture of the Syrian Arab Republic, in the presence of the Governor of Aleppo, the head of the Aleppo City Council, a member of the Executive Office of the Culture and Tourism sector, the Director of the Aleppo Antiquities, the Director of the Aleppo Museum, heads of departments, a number of interested persons, researchers, experts from Aga Khan Network and engineers restoration of Umayyad Mosque and a number of local and international media outlets. The Omani side was represented by representative from the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman in the Syrian Arab Republic and their accompanying delegations.

Dr Lubana Mushouh also toured Beit Ajqbash with the Omani side to observe the progress of rehabilitation works within Ajqbash, which is one of the ancient Aleppine palaces.

She said: “The National Museum of Aleppo, which was restored in 2019, receives today the first exhibition of Omani artefacts and heritage, which were displayed in the Damascus National Museum for six consecutive months. So we thought that the people of Aleppo can have the chance to see them and get acquainted with the Omani civilisation.

The Minister of Culture indicated that the Omani artefacts date back to different eras and includes photo exhibition of some archaeological sites registered on the Unesco World Heritage List. She pointed that this valuable exhibition shows the relation between the successive civilisations of both countries, Syria and Oman, especially in light of the strong ties that unite the two peoples in terms of culture, civilisation and commerce.

On the cultural exchange between the two countries, the Minister of Culture indicated that a similar exhibition was held in Oman. The exhibition presents artefacts from the Damascus Museum and Syrian museums in general. This significant cultural event has received clear and wide interest which indicates the convergence between the two peoples.

Jamal bin Hassan al Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, stated that the exhibition “Illuminations from Oman” in Aleppo is the first museum international exhibition to be held at the National Museum of Aleppo in recent years. The exhibition comes in the context of the National Museum initiative entitled Exhibition and Events “Oman Day”, after the success that was achieved at the National Museum of Damascus, which was inaugurated last year on November 1, 2021.

The inauguration of the exhibition complements the process of joint cooperation in culture and museum field between the two countries. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to introduce the Syrians to the Omani civilisation, in addition to highlighting the common factors that have brought the two countries since the Iron Age.

The exhibition includes Omani archaeological findings, which numbered about 32 artecrafts. This exhibition highlighted the prominent phases of the history of Oman across the ages like the dawn of the Magan civilisation, in the third millennium BC, which was famous for copper smelting and building sea vessels to the oasis civilisation, during the Iron Age, where the ingenuity of Omani engineering was demonstrated through the construction of irrigation systems such as the aflaj, which resulted in the expansion of agriculture.

With the emergence of Oman as the land of frankincense, it became a trade hub for other civilisations of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Pharaonic Egypt. The Islam helped Oman to establish its unique model of good governance, away from the centralisation of both the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate. As a result, Suhar became a prominent metropolis along the Maritime Silk Road linking the East and West of the civilisations of the ancient world.