After more than six years: Syria's national Museum re-opens

The Syrian national Museum, Damascus has opened on Sunday its rich store of antiquities, after more than six years for visitors. Only a few months ago, the gove

After more than six years: Syria's national Museum re-opens

The Syrian national Museum, Damascus has opened on Sunday its rich store of antiquities, after more than six years for visitors. Only a few months ago, the government had recaptured all rebel areas around the capital.

The re-opening should be a sign of the Attempts of the Syrian government in the capital, back to normality, after the Russian-backed military has pushed back in the civil war, the rebels from large Parts of the country. In April, a bloody Offensive by the Syrian army forced the rebels of Eastern Ghuta. The other rebel areas around Damascus surrendered in the following weeks.

Syrian officials, foreign archaeologists and restoration specialists took part in the re-opening of the Syrian national Museum.

Only a part of the Museum and its collection with artifacts from the ancient civilization of Syria was now open again, said the Deputy Director of the Museum, Ahmad Deeb. "We will be exhibiting a collection of artifacts from all periods of prehistory, the ancient near East and the classical and Islamic periods in this section," he said.

renovation is still out

More than 9,000 artifacts have Nerobet been restored and since the beginning of the civil war, recovered, said the Director of the Syrian antiquities authority (DGAM), Mahmoud Hammoud. However, he pointed out that the Museum had to be renovated, and financial resources need. Hundreds of thousands of important artifacts and sculptures that had been smuggled during the war abroad.

As the uprising in 2011, spread, evacuated the government in the collection of the Museum, one of the most important in the Middle East, together with those of the province of museums, and hid their artifacts far from the war zone.

The former Director of the DGAM Maamoun Abdul-Karim said the re-opening: "This is a great victory for the country. If all museums in the country open wide again, we can say that the crisis in Syria is finished."

The conflict in Syria but in other Parts of the country, which are still under Assad's control. He stabilized the Russian-Turkish agreement on the last rebel stronghold Idlib. On Saturday, Germany, France, Turkey and Russia met in addition to a Syria summit in Istanbul.

times/AP/Reuters

Date Of Update: 29 October 2018, 07:00
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