Basra Museum opening sparks hopes of cultural revival in post-war Iraq
Basra Museum opened its doors to the public this week in another step towards restoring the country's cultural heritage damaged in conflicts dating back almost four decades to the war with Iran. The museum in Basra had been closed since 1991, when it was among nine museums looted by mobs opposed to dictator Saddam Hussein […]Mina Aldroubi writes for The National:
Basra Museum opened its doors to the public this week in another step towards restoring the country's cultural heritage damaged in conflicts dating back almost four decades to the war with Iran.
The museum in Basra had been closed since 1991, when it was among nine museums looted by mobs opposed to dictator Saddam Hussein at the close of the first Gulf War. Now, with the assistance of the British Museum and other organisations, thousands of artefacts dating back as far as 6000BC are back on display in the southern province.
The collection, housed in a former palace of the late dictator, covers Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods of Iraq’s history.
