Tag: history

Exploring the ‘Art of Persia’ as Iran Mulls Reopening for Tourism

Posted on by webmaster

Home to 22 UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s past encompasses an intoxicating mix of empires, invading armies, and ancient poets. Despite the current regime’s predilection for hardline interpretations of the Quran and emphasis on Iran’s Islamic identity, the country’s pre-Islamic cultural heritage sites increasingly feature in pitches made to international visitors. 

Despite extensive cultural offerings and low costs for food and accommodation, Iran remains relatively untouched by mass tourism. Hard-hitting sanctions, including flight bans, and frosty relations with much of the West have historically kept visitor numbers low. In recent years Iranian officials have made concerted efforts to increase tourist numbers. In 2019, Iran recorded a 29.7% year-on-year increase in tourists, bringing total visitor numbers to just over seven million. 

Iranian officials hoping to see this trend continue were optimistic earlier this month about the possibility of welcoming tourists again from July. However, with over 100 COVID-19 daily deaths reported across the weekend, the highest numbers since mid-April, Iran may need to adjust timelines for tourists returning as the country focuses on containing the virus for a second time. 

Prior to COVID-19 the historical and cultural sites drawing international travelers included the ancient city of Persepolis and the Pink Mosque (officially Nasir al-Molk Mosque). 

BBC explores the “Art of Persia” 

In 2019, the BBC’s Samira Ahmed spent six weeks with a film crew traveling across the country documenting some of its most sacred heritage sites. The result, the three-part “Art of Persia” series, is a journey across 2000 years of art and culture. 

The Persians once ruled an empire from Egypt to Northern India and whilst their empire no longer exists, Persian culture and identity has withstood the arrival of invading armies, new languages, and a new religion to remain a source of pride among Iranians today. 

Among the historical sites featured in the program are the garden tombs of Saadi and Hafez, Persian poets from the Middle Ages whose work inspired that of European writers. The tombs are popular pilgrimage sites. In recent times, the English translations of Hafez’s poetry have become a source of controversy with scholars claiming they are too inaccurate to be considered a reproduction of Hafez’s work. 

At the crux of critiques of the English translations is the erasure of Hafez’s Persian and Muslim identity. For Professor Omid Safi of Duke University, this is an issue of “power, privilege and erasure” that robs the poetry of its original spirituality. 

Among the most wondrous sites featured is the Nasir al-Molk Mosque, known colloquially as the Pink Mosque due to the extensive use of rose-colored tiles throughout the building. Located in Shiraz, in the Southwest of Iran, the mosque was built in the late 19th century. 

Adding to the mosque’s uniqueness is the use of stained glass, not a common feature in mosque architecture. Sunrise sees light shine through the windows with elaborate patterns and colors cast onto its floor to create a breathtaking site. 

Exploring Portugal’s Muslim History

Posted on by webmaster

The presence of churches is inescapable in Portugal, a country that has centered its identity since the Middle Ages on a Christian heritage and where students continue to learn of the reconquest against Muslim “invaders.” 

Missing in any meaningful way from this narrative however is the approximately 500 years of Muslim rule during which Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived together in relative harmony. Ignored too is the influence that this period continues to have on art and culture in the region once known as al-Andalus. 

Tracing al-Andalus 

In 711, Arab armies from North Africa led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad conquered large parts of Portugal and Spain to create a region known in Arabic as al-Andalous. Whilst Arabic invaders did not force conversion, historians believe that by the 10th century approximately half of the population had converted to Islam. 

Following the reconquest in the 12th and 13th centuries, subsequent Portuguese kings gradually expelled Muslim and Jewish communities from their territory. In 1496, the decision by King Manuel I to expel all remaining Muslims and Jews resulted in the creation of Portugal as an exclusively Christian nation.

Despite its violent end, the influence of the Andalusian period is still identifiable in the Portuguese language today. Portuguese writer Adalberto Alves has identified 19,000 Portuguese words that originated from Arabic and recently arriving refugees report surprise at recognizing words in a language they expected to be completely foreign. 

One of the most extraordinary examples of this influence is the Portuguese word “oxala.” Pronounced “oshallah,” it is derived from the Arabic word “inshallah” and has the same meaning, “God willing.” 

Eschewing the narrative of Europeans and Muslims as natural enemies, Alves has explored the ongoing influence of al-Andalus in Portugal and Spain. As a result of this work, which has highlighted contributions to poetry and art, many in Portugal are increasingly embracing Andalusian culture as a part of local history. 

Celebrating examples of coexistence 

Nationalist dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar furthered the conceptualization of Portugal as an exclusively Christian nation during the Estado Novo. Lasting from 1933 to 1974, the Estado Novo period depicted Muslims as the enemy and “the traces of Islamic history were erased,” explains anthropologist Maria Cardeira da Silva. 

In the small town of Mertola in southeastern Portugal, archaeological work has highlighted how communities lived together and challenged dominant narratives of conquest. Claudio Torres, who founded of the archeaological Field of Mertola in 1978, suggests that trade was particularly important to the spread of Islam in the region. 

As a result of centuries of interaction between Southern Europeans and North Africans, Torres believes the two groups “have a common past and a lot of cultural similarities. We are closer to northern Africa than we are to northern Europe.”

To that end the town of Mertola is embracing its history and in 2019 held its 10th Islamic Festival of Mertola. The annual festival highlights the influence that Islam and Muslim residents had on the region and draws performers and crowds from across the region. 

As interest in Portugal’s Muslim history continues to grow, it serves as an anecdote to counter rising intolerance around the region and highlights the possibilities of peaceful coexistence.

The Palestinian Thobe as a Symbol of National Pride

Posted on by webmaster

Consisting of multiple pieces, including front and back panels, a square chestpiece, and sleeves, it is possible to trace the Palestinian back to the second century B.C. Records from the era show the Canaanites (as people from the region were then known) dressed in the distinct fashion.  

The detailed embroidery that features on the thobe, known as tatreez, is a skill that mothers have passed down to their daughters for centuries. In the post-Crusades era, tatreez patterns and the thobe styles began to influence the attire of European women. 

Paintings from the period show garments featuring the same intricate patterns or Arabic calligraphy. By tracing the trading routes of the Middle Ages, historians have been able to link the garments directly to modern day Palestine. 

Popular patterns featured on the thobe include the ancient eight-pointed star. The symbol has been found in crafts across the Middle East since antiquity. In Europe, it featured heavily on garments where it was known as the “Holy Star of Bethlehem.”

In recent years, the thobe has emerged as an important subject in projects seeking to preserve Palestinian history and culture. For historians and activists alike, the ability to trace the presence of the thobe in the region for thousands of years further legitimizes Palestinian claims to the territory as their ancestral homeland. 

#TweetYourThobe

In January 2019, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, wore a thobe during her swearing-in. 

Tlaib’s announcement in December 2018 that she would wear the thobe sparked controversy with some netizens claiming that it was “anti-American” to wear the traditional dress of another country. 

The backlash prompted fellow Palestian-American Susan Muaddi Darraj to start the hashtag #tweetyourthobe. In defiance of the anti-Arab sentiment at the heart of the controversy, hundreds of women shared photos of their thobes and pride in their Palestine heritage. 

On her decision to wear the thobe, Tlaib wrote, “It fills me with joy to be able to show aspects of Palestinian culture.” For Tlaib, the decision was also political with the thobe as symbolic of the diversity of the United States. She described the move as “an unapologetic display of the fabric of the people in this country.”

The survival of the thobe and the practice of tatreez following the creation of Israel and mass exodus of Palestinians in 1948 is in itself a political statement. For many, the hundreds of hours of labor needed to produce a thobe is as much about Palestinian nationalism as it is about the production of the dress. 

As Rachel Dedman of the Palestine Museum noted, “The historic thobe conjures an ideal of pure and untouched Palestine, before the occupation.” In diaspora communities, the thobe and tatreez have become important means of connection to Palestine and keeping Palenstianian culture alive. 

In recent years, the production of cheaper and lighter versions has facilitated the thobe’s transition to an everyday piece worn to express pride and nationalism.  

The MENA Preserves History, Heritage During COVID-19 Crisis

Posted on by webmaster

The rich history of the MENA is an undisputed fact. The region is home to the “cradle of civilization,” where man first domesticated plants and developed writing systems, and the world’s three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 

With a plethora of archaeological and historical sites, the MENA provides valuable insights into some of the world’s oldest civilizations. 

Decades of war, political instability, and terrorism have, however, obscured the cultural and historical significance of the MENA and seen many of the region’s most important sites damaged or destroyed. 

Eager to reverse this trend and preserve historical sites, governments, international organizations, and religious groups across the region are collaborating to excavate, rebuild, and restore artefacts from across the region. 

This important work ensures that the story of man’s experience from our most ancient civilizations to the present day will be preserved for future generations. 

Restoration efforts in Iraq 

In Iraq, efforts to rebuild heritage sites take place alongside those to rebuild cities.

In Mosul and the surrounding region, ISIS destroyed museums, churches, and mosques indiscriminately during its occupation from 2014 to 2017. Among those destroyed were the 12th century Great Mosque of al-Nuri and the 19th century Our Lady of the Hour Church. 

The church is currently undergoing reconstruction in a project spearheaded by UNESCO and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who have committed over $50 million to rebuilding heritage sites in Mosul. 

UAE Minister for Culture and Knowledge Development Noura Al Kaabi highlighted the importance that historical sites have on society’s understanding of itself, explaining that “by rebuilding a fraction of the past, Iraq can shape its future as an inclusive, tolerant and open society.” 

The UNESCO and UAE collaboration will also restore the al-Nuri mosque. 

This work to restore cultural artefacts provides much-needed employment to traditional artisans and for some is part of the healing process following occupation by ISIS. As Dr. Richard Kurin, Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large at the Smithsonian Institution explains, “rehabilitating the museum can help the city rebuild its spirit and restore pride and esteem in people who were terrorized.”

In May, the Mosul Museum, Iraq’s second largest museum reopened amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions. Whilst it may be some time before the region sees much-needed tourists, the work to restore goes on. 

New discoveries in Egypt 

In Egypt, archaeologists continue to document history with the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reopening work on sites from mid-May. 

In the Bahnasah region, archaeologists on a joint Egyptian-Spanish excavation recently discovered a cemetery and eight tombs from the Roman era. The city, known at that time as Oxyrhynchus, was home to over 30,000 monks and many monasteries with earlier excavations unearthing detailed archives. 

Work also continues on the documentation and restoration of Khufu’s second ship. To date, over 1,200 pieces of the ship have been removed, digitally archived, and restored. The painstaking work is currently being undertaken in line with special coronavirus precautions that include a reduced team and daily sanitizing. 

Dating from approximately 2500 BC the ship will eventually be rebuilt at the Grand Egyptian Museum and displayed alongside the first ship. Kamal el-Mallakh discovered Khufu’s two ships in 1954 at the pyramids in Giza. 

Most Popular