by FAIZA ALMASRY
(Islam is just 1,400 year old religion. It was introduced in 610 CE by a resident of Mecca named Muhammad. Ed.)
The mention of Saudi Arabia often leads people to envision an oil-rich, nearly-empty desert where Islam originated.
An exhibit in Washington, D.C., offers insight into the real history of the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on its pre-Islamic role as a trade route, the influence of nearby cultures, and the evolution of language.
“Roads of Arabia” opened at the Smithsonian’s Arthur Sackler Gallery.
The exhibit, the first about Saudi culture in the U.S., showcases more than 300 objects ranging from ornate pottery and monumental statues, to the jewelry that adorned the remains of a young girl buried nearly years ago.
Many of the objects have never been seen in Arabia, where they came from.
“Some of the earliest objects go back to the Neolithic period, like the 6th, 7th millennium BC,” curator Massumeh Farhad says. “And I think the most recent ones date to the early 20th century.”
The exhibit explores the Arabian Peninsula’s past as a trade route for one of the most valuable commodities of the ancient world, incense. A collection of incense burners shows how the great temple civilizations, including Greece and Rome, relied on incense brought from Arabia.
“Incense was what oil is today,” Farhad says. “In order to get the incense from the southern part, it had to move up the Red Sea coast. There were these various stopping stations and every station would levy a tax on the caravans. That is how many of these places became very wealthy.”
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