Lukashenko visited National Museum of Oman
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has visited the National Museum of Oman today, BelTA reports
The National Museum is located opposite the Sultan's Al Alam Palace. The decree on the construction of a new museum building was issued on November 20th, 2013, and the official opening ceremony took place on July 30th, 2016.
The museum covers an area of 13.7 thousand square metres, of which 4 thousand are occupied by fourteen exhibition halls: Land and People, Splendour of Islam, Oman and the World, galleries of maritime history, weapons and armour, prehistoric and ancient history, intangible heritage, Aflaj irrigation system, and others. 400 square metres house temporary exhibitions.
The National Museum of Oman is the first museum in the Middle East to use Arabic Braille for the visually impaired.
Interestingly, the Secretary General of the National Museum of Oman, Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moosawi, speaks Russian, and his mother is a native of Belarus. "I am well acquainted with Belarus and its history, since it is my homeland on my mother's side. I am proud that our ancestors showed patriotism and heroism in preserving their native land and its independence, giving their lives for it during the Great Patriotic War. Our family in Oman carefully keeps family documents telling about the life history of our Belarusian ancestors," he said.
In 2018, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the National History Museum of Belarus and the National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, and exhibitions are being exchanged.
During his visit to Oman in October 2024, Belarus’ Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko donated to the museum a facsimile edition of Francysk Skaryna, which contains all the famous works of the Belarusian first printer.
In autumn 2019, the National Art Museum of Belarus hosted the Oman: Pearl of the East. Handicraft Heritage exhibition from the collection of the National Museum of the Sultanate. In turn, the National Museum of Oman presented the Patterns and Symbols: Legacy of Belarusian Ornament exposition in 2020-2021; it displayed a variety of traditional folk customs shown in symbols, decorative patterns, and woven prints.
