Discover Islamic Art

[Al-khiyal]

Cairo, 20 April (AKI) - What's being billed as the first virtual museum of Islamic art "opened" officially on Friday providing a window on some of the traces of Islamic culture that are scattered across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The project, which makes accessible online the marvels of ancient Islamic culture, involves 17 museums in 14 countries.

More than 850 artefacts, 385 monuments and archaeological sites, covering 1280 years of history are accessible at the click of a button. From 634 AD when for the first time the Islamic army penetrated the Levante to the fall of the Ottoman empire to the start of the 20th century.

The creation of this museum, whose themed exhibitions involve Algeria, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Great Britain, seeks to boost understanding of the historic ties between Europe and North Africa and the Middle East.

The site is available in eight languages. "It can be used by tourists who want to decide on the route of their journeys based on the things that they want to see, or history buffs and even young people who have to do research in class on ancient times" explained Mohammed Abbas Selim, project spokesman in Cairo.

Sponsored by the European Union and by the Euromed Heritage programme, "Discover Islamic Art" cost 3.2 million euros and is part of the wider "Museum Without Borders", a non profit organisation founded in 1994 in Vienna by Eva Schubert, who has dedicated her career to the development of multicultural projects at an international level.

[Al-khiyal]

Discover islamic Art

[_DigitaLVampirE_]

I've always been fascinated by Morrocan tile work. They make some of the most beautiful tiles around.

[Bent_Bladi]

Cairo, 20 April (AKI) - What's being billed as the first virtual museum of Islamic art "opened" officially on Friday providing a window on some of the traces of Islamic culture that are scattered across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The project, which makes accessible online the marvels of ancient Islamic culture, involves 17 museums in 14 countries.

More than 850 artefacts, 385 monuments and archaeological sites, covering 1280 years of history are accessible at the click of a button. From 634 AD when for the first time the Islamic army penetrated the Levante to the fall of the Ottoman empire to the start of the 20th century.

The creation of this museum, whose themed exhibitions involve Algeria, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Great Britain, seeks to boost understanding of the historic ties between Europe and North Africa and the Middle East.

The site is available in eight languages. "It can be used by tourists who want to decide on the route of their journeys based on the things that they want to see, or history buffs and even young people who have to do research in class on ancient times" explained Mohammed Abbas Selim, project spokesman in Cairo.

Sponsored by the European Union and by the Euromed Heritage programme, "Discover Islamic Art" cost 3.2 million euros and is part of the wider "Museum Without Borders", a non profit organisation founded in 1994 in Vienna by Eva Schubert, who has dedicated her career to the development of multicultural projects at an international level.

woo hoo!! go syria! go palestine!!!!

[Al-khiyal]

Sabil Qaytbay, Mamluk Period, al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem

May 10, 2007 -- Eighteen virtual exhibitions have been launched, creating a showcase for Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

Museum staff from 14 countries have worked together to complete the project, and 50 artefacts from each museum are on show in the virtual exhibition ‘rooms’.

The UK is represented by the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the National Museums of Scotland and Glasgow Museums.

They are joined by representatives from countries including Egypt, Algeria, Jordon and Morocco.

Each of the virtual exhibitions was created by a team of curators from both sides of the Mediterranean. Accompanying the works of art are archaeological facts about the regions.

The artworks chart the time from the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus to the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.

The website, MWNF - Museum With No Frontiers - Discover Islamic Art is not intended for specialists on the subject, but is aimed at website users, art fans and school children who want to know more about Islamic Art. An educational section of the site will launch within the next 10 days.

The site has taken three years to complete and has involved more than 300 people in 14 countries communicating in nine languages. The project, which includes seminars and a book on Islamic Art, cost £2,680,000.

Speaking at the launch at the Foreign Office yesterday, Neil McGregor, director of the British Museum said: ‘It is a very special day when you can launch 18 exhibitions simultaneously.’ He talked of a shared heritage and said that the collaboration was important to create ‘a new kind of history’.

‘We have allowed these objects to speak in a much wider context and in a much richer way,’ he said.

Eva Schubert, Chair and Chief Executive of Museum with no Frontiers, said that each country presents art history from their own perspective. She argued that being able to see artefacts clearly by zooming in online is an advantage over viewing things in a museum behind a showcase.

She said that promoting cultural co-operation would hopefully encourage political co-operation across the countries involved.

The site includes exhibitions dedicated to the great Islamic dynasties – the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Fatimads, the dynasties of the Muslim West, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks and the Ottomans. It also looks at themes such as pilgrimage and calligraphy. A cross-referencing tool enables users to compare what was happening in the art world in different countries during a certain time period.

The majority of the project was funded by the European Commission’s Euromed Heritage Programme.

Virtual museum showcases shared heritage

[Bent_Bladi]

lik ya Allah shou beautiFULL!! Bismillah MashaAllah 3ala our ancestors genius