Roads to Arabia- a night at the museum

Strangely, i was always of the opinion that India is the only country in the whole wide world with a rich history dating back to millions of years...Thanks to our history teachers who try to inculcate the apathy towards other nations which we see as countries with little or no history at all, beyond a century or two. Or may be i was always so dumb to think that apart from India, all other countries just emerged out of the Big Bang a bit late! I was in for a rude shock when i visited the National Museum, Riyadh, KSA. The three to four hours i spent there was probably the most educative and informative time of my early thirties...There i said it! All readers younger than thirty can now rejoice...cloud nine is in his/ her early thirties! Riyadh National Museum is a must see, if you ever get a chance to visit the country, which is simply ruled out, as there are no visit visas to the country. So, i would certainly love to share a few pictures and knowledge gained from the trip i had there.

Meteorite from the Empty Quarter, not the round one you see in front of, but the stone at the backdrop!

The famed desert rose, from the region of Ayn Dar and Abqaiq

Novices would think of a desert rose as a flower from a desert cactus, probably....but no. A desert rose is a rosette like formation of gypsum or barite crystals that form in arid, sandy conditions, usually the deserts. I have heard of Westerners who hunt for these roses driving in 4x4 through the rough desert terrain, simply to behold these beautiful natural crystals.

Neolithic stone spearheads found in Persian Gulf area

The next on display was tiny spearheads made of stone- Neolithic man did exist in the Arabian deserts. The sharpness and array of colors of stones is stunning.

Rock inscriptions of early cavemen in Arab Peninsula

 Equally stunning was the rock inscriptions of cave men found in Peninsular Arabia. The heiroglyphic found is akin to the Egyptian inscriptions. Interestingly, Arabic has descended from Mesopotamian Cuneiform script, as is evident from the following pictures-

Rock slabs showing gradual development of Cuneiform script

Rock inscription in Cuneifrom script

Rock carving depicting a woman worshiping a cow/ goat, early Phoenician Era

Sacrificial altar- where livestock were sacrificed

Most interesting fresco of the museum- prophet and the grape vine, probably depicting Jesus!

A mud strainer, 325 AD

Grinding stone and pedestal- please drop your ideas of patenting our " Ammi, aattukkal"!

Beautiful hand written Quran in old script

And what would be more interesting to learn than knowing how the Arab women dressed up in early times? Especially the jewellery...argh...the vanity in me! Kohl sticks were used so early as in 100 AD, copper needles were used to sew and the beads made of bones and rock gave way to intricately designed gold jewellery. The Neolithic jewellery comprised of roughly hung bones and rock as these-

Beads that adorned Neolithic women in Arab Peninsula

A bead made of colored polished stones

Jewellery of 300 AD, notice the jhumkas in gold, copper kohl stick

GOLD!!! Jewellery of Arab women used a few centuries back, look at the 'thayathu'!!!

Delicately carved gold chain, the figurine probably depicted the lady for whom it was designed for!

I came out of the museum worldly wise and a bit humbled by the Civilizations that thrived along the Persian Gulf which is rich in culture and heritage. So far as i know of Saudi Arabia, the land ranges from anything from unproductive deserts to fertile oases and equally fertile mountains down South, that boast of pomegranate gardens and grape vineyards. The people are usually aloof- probably because they look upon the visitors as people who snatch away their livelihoods. No fault of theirs, actually. Their history and culture is shrouded in mystery to the outside world, but as we get close to their culture and traditions, they appear a misinterpreted lot- a World still lies unexplored, people still closed and drawn, but the roads to Arabia are opening up for sure. A night at their museum taught me that!

Note: All pictures depicted above are from my personal treasure trove. Please don't copy!