IRAQ: Basra's heritage museum sheds light on the early history and heritage of the southern port city

Record ID: 645049

  • Title: IRAQ: Basra's heritage museum sheds light on the early history and heritage of the southern port city
  • Date: 30th January 2014
  • Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE SIGN READING (Arabic): 'MINISTRY OF CULTURE, CULTURAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, CULTURAL HOUSE IN BASRA' INTERIOR CULTURAL HOUSE OF BASRA INTERIOR COURTYARD OF BUILDING MAN COMING OUT OF MUSEUM MAN ENTERING MUSEUM MAN LOOKING AT ANTIQUES AND VINTAGE OBJECTS COPPERWARE AND PORCELAIN ON DISPLAY ANTIQUE SAMOVAR AND PORCELAIN OLD GRAMOPHONE HEAD OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE, ABDUL HAQ AL-MUDHAFFAR, HOLDING ANTIQUE PISTOL ANTIQUE PISTOL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE, ABDUL HAQ AL-MUDHAFFAR, SAYING: "This is a simple project, which will get bigger, God willing. It's a museum for vintage objects which were common in the houses of Basra in the past, from 100 to 400 years ago." AL-MUDHAFFAR EXAMINING VINTAGE RIFLE VARIOUS OF VINTAGE OBJECTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE, ABDUL HAQ AL-MUDHAFFAR, SAYING: "Objects include, for example, rugs and glassware, like porcelain and plates, guns, swords and various kinds of antiques. Some of the antiques date back 150 or 200 years, in addition to the manuscripts that date back some 400 years." VARIOUS OF MAN EXAMINING MANUSCRIPT VARIOUS OF PICTURE OF FORMER KING OF IRAQ, KING FAISAL, AND OLD PISTOLS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE, ABDUL HAQ AL-MUDHAFFAR, SAYING: "The aim is to introduce the new generation, our children, to the Basra house, the house of their forefathers and their ancestors to show them what Basra's houses were like, what the old houses were like and what they contained. A number of schools have started to organise educational visits to the museum to see what Basra's old houses were like, the old houses and the objects used by their fathers and forefathers." MAN LOOKING AT VINTAGE OBJECTS SWORDS ON DISPLAY OLD OBJECTS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF BASRA CULTURAL HOUSE, ABDUL HAQ AL-MUDHAFFAR, SAYING: "God willing, a big museum will be open in Basra at the presidential palace. The presidential palace will house waxworks and a Basra heritage museums. We will participate in the museum through families that preserve this heritage. We will try to obtain antiques by buying them, even if they are expensive, we will buy them from the owners. I think it will be a comprehensive museum that houses all the antiques." WHEELS AND COPPER COFFEE POTS / SWORDS HANGING ON WALL AL-MUDHAFFAR LOOKING AT ANTIQUES
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,History
  • Reuters ID: LVAA3EC0DBW4VID6FU66G87WXZSW
  • Story Text: A new museum in Basra hopes to preserve the southern Iraqi city's history and heritage for future generations to enjoy.
    Housed temporarily at the city's Cultural House, the Basra Heritage Museum holds a rich variety of antique objects, such as copperware, porcelain and weaponry.
    The museum's founders say they hope that in time, the collection will grow to incorporate many more items.

    "This is a simple project, which will get bigger, God willing. It's a museum for vintage objects which were common in the houses of Basra in the past, from 100 to 400 years ago," said the head of the Cultural House, Abdul Haq al-Mudhaffar.
    As well as copperware objects like coffee pots, the collection also includes vintage furniture like dressing tables, water boilers and vintage storage boxes, giving visitors an insight into the traditional way of life of Basra's inhabitants through the ages.
    Also on display are vintage guns, rugs, a vintage gramophone dating back more than 100 years, in addition to swords dating back more than 150 years.
    There are also old manuscripts and a British visa from 150 years ago.

    "Objects include, for example, rugs and glassware, like porcelain and plates, guns, swords and various kinds of antiques. Some of the antiques date back 150 or 200 years, in addition to the manuscripts that date back some 400 years," said Mudhaffar.
    To get the project started, Mudhaffar said he approached local families who were known for their collections of vintage objects.
    He convinced them to give their items to the museum so that future generations could learn about the lives of their ancestors.

    "The aim is to introduce the new generation, our children, to the Basra house, the house of their forefathers and their ancestors to show them what Basra's houses were like, what the old houses were like and what they contained. A number of schools have started to organise educational visits to the museum to see what Basra's old houses were like, the old houses and the objects used by their fathers and forefathers," he said.
    Mudhaffar said the current museum was the nucleus of a much bigger museum which is soon to open at the riverside palace of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein.

    "God willing, a big museum will be open in Basra at the presidential palace. The presidential palace will house waxworks and a Basra heritage museum. We will participate in the museum through families that preserve this heritage. We will try to obtain antiques by buying them, even if they are expensive, we will buy them from the owners. I think it will be a comprehensive museum that houses all the antiques," Mudhaffar said.
    Basra bore the brunt of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and was also a main target for U.S.-led forces who pummelled it with bombs and missiles during the 1991 Gulf War.
    But the southern port city, built by the Abbasids in the seventh century, was once a hub of trade and tourism.
    It became an intellectual centre, renowned for its architecture, mosques and libraries, and producing leading Islamic thinkers and philosophers, before evolving into a tourist destination in the 1970s and early 1980s.
    It's a rich history that many would like to see preserved for generations to come.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register