Tuesday 22 / April / 2025
On Friday July 29, 2022, the National Museum inaugurated, at the National Museum of Aleppo, the exhibition and activities "Illuminations from Oman.” 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 under the patronage of Her Excellency Dr. Lubana Mushouh, the Minister of Culture of the Syrian Arab Republic, with the participation 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.
Her Excellency Dr. Lubana Mushouh, the Syrian Minister of Culture, 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.
H.E. Dr. Lubana Mushouh, the Syrian Minister of Culture said: “The National Museum of Aleppo, which was restored in 2019, receives today the first exhibition of Omani artifacts 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 civilization.
The Minister of Culture indicated that the Omani artifacts represent artifacts dating back to different eras and gradual in antiquity to the modern era, with a photo exhibition of some archaeological sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. H. E. pointed that this valuable exhibition shows the relationbetween the successive civilizations of both countries, Syria and Oman, especially in light of the strong ties that unite the two peoples culturally, civilizationally,and commercially.
On the cultural exchange between the two countries, the Minister of Culture indicated that a similar exhibition was held on Omani land. The exhibition presents multiple collectibles 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 people, and this is a forgone conclusion. These events were supposed to be held with all Arab countries, but in general the relations between Syria and Oman are distinguished fraternal relations dominated by understanding. H. E. thanked the brothers in Oman for the continuous support to Syria in all fields.
H.E. 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, since the years of the crisis imposed upon them. 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 the cultural and museum field between the two countries. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to introduce the Syrians to the Omani civilization, in addition to highlighting the common factors that have brought the two countries since the Iron Age. Which were represented in the frankincense pathways that stretched from Dhofar to Palmyra, Bosra, Aleppo and other cities of the Levant all the way to Byzantium, and to the establishment of the Islamic civilization in which Oman and Syria have sheltered, to present their own distinct civilizedmodels, leading to the distinguished bilateral relations at the present time.
The exhibition includes Omani archaeological artefacts, which numbered about 32 articrafts. This exhibition highlighted the prominent stations in the history of Oman across the ages. Since the dawn of the Magan civilisation, in the third millennium BC, which was famous for copper smelting and building seavessels. passing through 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 caused theagricultural patterns to be flourished. Moreover, theemergence of the civilisation of the land of frankincense.
It became a destination hub for merchants from other civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Paranoiac Egypt. To extend later to the Levant and from there to Byzantium, to the Islam of the people of Oman during the Prophet (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) era. The Islam helped Oman to establish its unique model of good governance, away from the centralization of both the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate. As a result, Sohar became a prominent metropolis along the Maritime Silk Road linking the East and West of the civilizations of the ancient world. And to the era of the Omani Empire, which was established in the seventeenth century A.H.during the reign of the Ya`ariba imams to reach its zenith during the nineteenth century A.H. during the reign of al Busaid and its capital, Zanzibar. The trade extended through time and the Omani’s communication with others, influencing him and being influenced by him, helped formulating the forms of archaeological finds discovered in Oman.
The exhibition is rich in cultural diversity, and Omani craft industries are considered to be a tangible embodiment of the past and present and a documentation of various lifestyles, and express the cultural values for which it is famous: such as hospitality and generosity.
Emphasizing the importance of the frankincense trade in ancient times in shaping human civilisation throughout history; four archaeological sites have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: al Baleed City, Khor Rori (Sumharam), Shisr (Ubar) and Wadi Dawka. The exhibition also highlights the features of the beauty of the Arabic language, where Omanis have known their eloquence since pre-Islamic era, and that ingenuity and accuracy was reflected in writing the most beautiful poems and proverbs, and the Omanis were not satisfied with making Arabic calligraphy a means of communication only, but also transcended it to become an art of fine arts. This proverbs and wisdoms are usually quoted from the hadiths of the Prophet, may God Bless hum and grant him peace, or from the poems of the poets, or from the thoughts of thinkers and the opinions of scholars. The “Oman Day” initiative launched by the National Museum is in line with what was stated in defining the museum’s objectives under Royal Decree No. (62/2013 AD), issued on November 20, 2013, including: Participation in highlighting the civilizational, historical, cultural and scientific heritage of the Sultanate of Oman at the regional and international levels, to reach a wide segment of the public abroad. It is organized annually in one of the world's most prestigious museums.
It is noteworthy that this is the fourth stop of the aforementioned initiative, as the first initiative titled “Oman Day” was launched at the ancient Hermitage Museum in the Russian Federation in 2018. The cooperation was culminated with the inauguration of a hall bearing the name of Oman in the Tsarist Winter Palace in the year of 2020. The second stop of this initiative was the National Museum of Fine Arts in the Republic of Belarus, which was held in the year of 2019, where the Sultanate of Oman came as a guest of honor on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the opening of the museum. Moreover, the third stop was at the Damascus National Museum in 2021.
The National Museum was established by Royal Decree No. (62/2013), and it has a legal personality; in line with internationally recognized experiences and standards in classifying ancient museums. It aims to achieve its educational, cultural and humanitarian mission, by consolidating noble Omani values, activating belonging, and raising public awareness among citizens, residents and visitors, for Oman, its history, heritage and culture. And by developing their creative and intellectual abilities, especially in the areas of preserving evidence, collectibles, and highlighting the cultural dimensions of Oman; by employing and adopting the best practices and standards in the fields of museum sciences.
On the other hand, the National Museum of Aleppo is considered to be one of the important museums in Syria. The museum was established in 1931 in the city of Aleppo. It possesses very important collections on the history of Syria dating back to the Islamic and Roman periods, in addition to periods dating back to the third and fourth millennium B.C. and important civilisations.
