An exhibit of over three hundred archaeological works illuminating the history of Saudi Arabia will be on display starting Monday at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The exhibit which runs through September 27, 2010 is titled “Roads of Arabia – Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and is described by the Museum announcement as:
This exhibition offers a journey through the heart of Arabia, orchestrated by photographs of the region’s sumptuous landscapes. It takes the form of a series of stopovers in some of the peninsula’s extensive oases, which in ancient times were home to powerful states or which, beginning in the 7th century, became Islamic holy places. The three hundred items chosen, most of which have never left their country of origin before, provide an original panorama of the different cultures that succeeded each other within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia from prehistoric times through the dawn of the modern world.
The complete description is on the Louvre web site HERE.
Writing of the exhibit in Arab News today, Roger Harrison called the exhibit “an eye-opener for those who conceive the Kingdom currently as a one-dimensional oil producer or historically as a theocratic monoculture.” His profile, which can be found HERE, continued:
Whilst its modern history — the last 14 centuries or so — has been defined by Islam, the earlier history of the Arabs and in particular, the Arabian Peninsula is rich and varied. The exhibition invites visitors to travel back six millennia or more with artefacts on show that demonstrate the richness of culture and artisanship that have existed in “Felix Arabia” from the dawn of civilization.
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