articles/Exhibition celebrates history of Islams second holiest city — theartnewspaper.com

A visitor views a calligraphic work by Arwa Al-Neimy in Madinah To celebrate the end of Medina’s year as Islamic Capital of Culture in 2013, the British Museum has helped organise an exhibition in the Saudi Arabian city that opened earlier this month. Since non-Muslims are not allowed to visit Medina, the show is held at the Meridian Hotel Complex, outside the forbidden zone. “Words and Illuminations” (until 9 May), is divided broadly into two parts, one showing contemporary Arabic calligraphy and the other historic photography. The calligraphy display, much of it lent by the British Museum, includes works by calligraphers such as Hassan Masoudi from Iraq, Farhad Mushiri from Iran and Abd Al-Qadir Rayyis from Dubai. In the photography section, visitors can see the first photographs ever taken of Medina—captured by the Egyptian photographer Sadeq Bey in 1880—through to images of the city taken in 1920. The photography exhibition is accompanied by a book, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, edited by the Brazilina photographer Humberto Da Silviera, who researched the works on view.

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