Muscat: King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and Prince Al Hussein Ibn Abdullah II, Crown Prince, visited the National Museum on Wednesday.
This took place as part of the official visit of the Jordanian Monarch to the Sultanate of Oman.
King Abdullah II was greeted upon his arrival at the museum by Jamal al Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum.
The King and his accompanying delegation toured the museum and its galleries, which highlight the cultural heritage of the Sultanate of Oman, since the beginning of presence of humans in Oman to the present day. Those galleries include the Land and People gallery, the timeline gallery, the prehistoric gallery and Oman and the World gallery.
The guests were briefed on a number of Jordanian artefacts displayed in the upper arcade of the museum, including 12 Islamic coins dating from the period (70-913 AH/ 689-1507 CE), gifted by the late King Al Hussein bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The guests visited the corner dedicated for the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour (the dearest and purest of men) in the Renaissance gallery where the original letter No (1) of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour addressed to members of the Royal Family Council through the Defence Council is displayed, as well as royal collections, most notably a piece of an architectural mural from inside the holy Al Aqsa Mosque, presented to the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said by King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The guests also checked a model of the Dome of the Rock in Al Aqsa Mosque gifted by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1989. The replica is displayed in the National Museum’s collections gallery, being under the supervision of the Hashemite endowments.
The Jordanian King signed the visitor’s book saying: “We are pleased to express our great admiration of the National Museum, which represents the cultural heritage of the Sultanate of Oman. The museum highlights in an innovative way the heritage treasures of the Sultanate of Oman and its civilisations. We extend our deepest gratitude to this astounding cultural edifice and we pray to the Almighty Allah to grant the Sultanate of Oman, its leadership and people progress and prosperity.”
King Abdullah II was accompanied during his visit to the National Museum by Sayyid Badr Hamad al Busaidi, Foreign Minister (Head of the Mission of Honour) and Dr Madiha Ahmed al Shaibani, Minister of Education (Escort of the Queen).
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