The National Museum of Latakia ( ar, المتحف الوطني في اللاذقية), also known as the Latakia Museum ( ar, متحف اللاذقية), is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in the coastal city of

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, near the city's seafront, facing the

Port of Latakia The Port of Latakia ( ar, ميناء اللاذقية, french: link=no, Port de Lattaquié) is a seaport located on the Mediterranean sea in the city of Latakia. Established on 12 February 1950, it has since served as Syria's main seaport. Its i ...

. It was inaugurated in 1986.

History

The museum formerly housed the residence of the Governor of the

Alawite State The Alawite State ( ar, دولة جبل العلويين, '; french: État des Alaouites), officially named the Territory of the Alawites (french: territoire des Alaouites), after the locally-dominant Alawites from its inception until its int ...

and was originally a 16th-century Ottoman '' khan'' ("caravansary") known as Khan al-Dukhan, meaning "The ''Khan'' of Smoke", as it served the tobacco trade. The ''khan'' historically served not only as an inn, but also contained private residences.

Exhibits

The museum consists of six halls, each showcasing exhibits from different periods from the city's history. The first two halls are dedicated to the cities of

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = F ...

Ebla Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...

, the site of

Ras ibn Hani Ras Ibn Hani ( ar, رأس ابن هاني) is a small cape located north of Latakia, Syria on the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important archaeological site as it was occupied almost continuously from the late Bronze Age until Byzantine Empire, B ...

and the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

in general, while the third hall is dedicated to the

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

, which contains many notable exhibits from the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

eras in which the city flourished in. The fourth hall is dedicated to the Islamic period beginning from the 7th century, and showcases many notable examples of Islamic art such as ceramics, calligraphy and weaponry while the final hall is dedicated to modern art and showcases the works of contemporary Syrian and Arab artists. The exhibits of the halls include inscribed tablets from

, ancient jewellery, coins, figurines, ceramics, pottery, and early Arab and Crusader-era

chain-mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

suits and swords. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the museum had been temporarily closed, to protect the museum's exhibits from the trafficking and looting, which became common during recent years, and had been evidenced by the Museums of Palmyra, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. However the museum's gardens are still open to the public, and contain many column capitals, ornaments, funerary tombs and statues which still can be viewed by the public, and the museum also continues to be used as a venue for art exhibits, fairs and festivals. In September 2014, local archaeologists from the Latakia Archaeology department discovered a secret tunnel extending from underneath the museum to the city's beachfront on the west, and work is still ongoing to find out how the tunnel was constructed, its age, and whether or not it’s connected to other tunnels or secret chambers or vaults.

Gallery

Latakia Museo - GAR - 2-02.jpg, A

-era funerary tomb in the Museum's gardens LatakiaMuseumStatues.jpg, Statues at the National Museum of Latakia's courtyard

References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Latakia Archaeological museums in Syria Museums established in 1986 Clay tablets Museums of Ancient Near East in Syria

History

Exhibits

Gallery

See also

References