The exhibition includes rare manuscripts highlighting the history of cultural exchange between Arabs and Europe

In the video... "Pearls of Wisdom" in Qasr Al Watan... a journey to the golden age

• Precious gems from the collections of the National Library of Spain and the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Library, never before shown to the public, at the exhibition.

  Photography: Najeeb Mohamed

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A unique historical journey, provided by the "Pearls of Wisdom" exhibition, which opened the day before yesterday at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, in cooperation with the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, and the Department of Planning and Cultural Development, to reveal to its visitors aspects of the mutual influence of Arab and Western civilizations, and the influence of Arab culture on Europe. And the prominent role played by Arabic manuscripts in preserving Arabic and Islamic sciences and transmitting them to the West.

The exhibition, which will run until January 6, 2023, provides a view of the golden age of Islamic civilization, with a focus on two important regions in the heart of Europe during the Middle Ages, namely Andalusia in the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily in southern Italy, as they formed the bridge between the Islamic world and Europe during the ages. The Middle Ages, which is the historical period that witnessed more cultural spread and the flow of scientific knowledge.

valuables

The exhibition includes seven different areas, displaying valuable manuscripts in the fields of literature, heritage, religion, music, philosophy, and science. Some of these manuscripts are precious gems that have not been previously shown to the public from the collections of the National Library of Spain and the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Library.

The exhibited manuscripts reveal the impact of Arab culture on Europe, the pioneering role of Arab civilization in the dialogue of religions, and the building of an epistemological bridge that paved the way for the Renaissance.

In the section on the development of the Arabic language spoken in Europe, the visitor learns about the stages of the development of the colloquial Arabic language in Europe, the Andalusian script, and the Arabic calligraphy in Sicilian art, and he looks at prominent manuscripts in the science of grammar and morphology.

While the second section deals with the dialogue of religions, and how cultural diversity during the period of Islamic rule in Andalusia and Sicily contributed to the birth of a dialogue that was a source of inspiration for many philosophers, such as Ibn Hazm, who pioneered the science of comparative religions.

The exhibition also highlights how Andalusian poetry was affected by cultural exchange, as it combined the classical language and the Arabic dialect, along with the Spanish language and music, which led to the emergence of new words and poetic structures.

Translation is the bridge of knowledge

Under the title "A Bridge Between Greek Knowledge and the Islamic World", the exhibition sheds light on the impact of translation in the transfer of knowledge in a special section, which included a number of rare manuscripts, and highlights how translation during the rule of Muslims in Andalusia was not limited to books written by Arab scholars only, but also Many works written in other languages, such as Greek, were translated into Arabic, and became the basis for further discoveries and innovations.

This section also shows that the Arabs also provided medical and agricultural technologies, which contributed to improving the quality of life of people during the Renaissance, and they also invented the modern university system, which in turn led to the scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries AD.

conspiracy

The opening of the "Pearls of Wisdom" exhibition coincides with the organization of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, the third Abu Dhabi Manuscripts Conference, under the slogan "The Journey of Arabic Manuscripts from East to West... Italy and Spain as a Model", in cooperation with the Marciana Library of the Italian Ministry of Culture, and the Italian University of Bologna Library. , the National Library of Spain, and the Spanish El Escorial Library, whose activities began yesterday at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and conclude today.

The conference witnesses the participation of a group of scholars, specialists and experts in the fields of manuscripts from Spain, Italy and various parts of the Arab world, in an effort to shed light on the prominent civilizational and cultural role played by the UAE in the field of preserving and disseminating the authentic Arab heritage.

The conference raises basic topics in the areas of investigation, preservation and translation of manuscripts, as the first day sessions focused on the extent of the influence and role of Islamic civilization in advancing development in Europe, civilizational connections, the journey of Arab manuscripts from east to west, and the efforts of Italian and Spanish Orientalism in realizing Arab heritage, and manuscripts. Arabic localized in Italy and Spain.

Today's sessions focus on the valuable lessons learned from Arabic manuscripts in European libraries within the fields of music, literature, language, poetry, and others. and rare manuscripts in Spanish libraries.

• The exhibition highlights the influence of Arab culture on Europe, and the prominent role played by Arabic manuscripts in preserving Islamic sciences and transmitting them to the West.

• 7 different areas display valuable manuscripts in the fields of literature, heritage, religion, music, philosophy, science, and others, which are included in the exhibition.

• Focusing on two regions in the heart of Europe during the Middle Ages, namely Andalusia and Sicily, as they formed the bridge between the Islamic world and Europe.

with scientists

The "Pearls of Wisdom" exhibition at Qasr Al-Watan in Abu Dhabi dedicated a section to introducing Muslim scholars in the West, and focused on those who appeared between the ninth and twelfth centuries AD, and the eleventh and fourteenth centuries AD, such as Abbas bin Firnas, Abu Dawood Suleiman bin Hassan (Ibn Dijal), and Abu Ishaq Al-Zarqali, And Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Sayegh (Ibn Baja), in addition to Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi, Abu al-Walid ibn Rushd, Abu al-Hasan Ibn Jubayr, and others.

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