National Museum showcases glorious past

RIYADH: The National Museum in cooperation with the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, is hosting an exhibition on “Early Capitals of Islamic Culture” here at the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center. It will continue until May 3, showing the rich Islamic legacy.
Jamal Omar, director general of the National Museum, called on the public to visit the exhibition which has been organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH).
SCTNH President Prince Sultan bin Salman inaugurated the exhibition recently.
“This will be a unique opportunity to see a collection of the most precious artifacts displayed in one of the most important and famous museums in the world, the Pergamon Museum, which very beautifully reflects Islamic civilization at its peak during the Umaiyyad and Abbasid periods,” said Omar.
He said that the exhibition includes 104 artifacts from the pieces on display at the Pergamon Museum in addition to 21 archaeological pieces from the collection of the National Museum which reflect models of Islamic civilization.
The exhibition is open to the public for 12 hours everyday starting at 8 a.m. and will continue till 8 p.m. except on Sundays when the timings are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The exhibition has been organized by SCTNH under cultural cooperation between the Kingdom and Germany in the fields of culture, exchange of experiences in museums, excavations and archaeological studies.
“We host a number of visiting exhibitions from international museums in our National Museum under the cultural exchange agreements between the Kingdom and a number of countries,” a senior SCTNH official said.
These efforts are aimed at communicating with the world and highlighting the Kingdom’s culture internationally, he said.
“We always seek better communication with the outside world and we want to inform the Saudi people and visitors to the National Museum about the history of our relationship with the entire world,” he added.