H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of QF, and Minister of State H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari with other dignitaries at the Heritage Library exhibition.
DOHA: The Arab and German Tales exhibition opened at the Qatar National Library (QNL), yesterday in the presence of H E Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF).
The exhibition ‘Arab and German Tales: Transcending Cultures’ being held as part of events organised to mark QNL’s official inauguration. It showcases how some of the best known tales from both Arab and German and wider Western – cultures developed from common roots, splitting over the centuries to reflect the societies that adopted them.
Minister of State H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Member of Advisory Council, Hans Udo Muzel, German Ambassador to Qatar, and Dr Sohair Wastawy, Executive Director of QNL, several other dignitaries and diplomats were also present during the opening of the Arab and German Tales exhibition.
“Cultures connect countries and cultures connect people. This exhibition features a selection of ancient papyri, rare manuscripts as well as rich traditions of storytelling, which has been a main component of literature since ancient days,” said Muzel. In this exhibition, unique masterpieces from antiquity to the present day are presented for the first time together, including stories of the Arabian Nights, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, and samples of the original Arabic handwriting of the famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The exhibition also includes rare Egyptian tales written on papyri (writing surfaces made from the pith of a plant growing in the Egyptian wetlands), such as the Story of Sinuhe, dating from the XII dynasty (approximately 1900 years BCE), a cuneiform tablet with the Epic of Gilgamesh from the 13th century BCE, and examinations of the famed One Thousand and One Nights through the Arabic oral tradition, before it was adapted and amended by European writers such as the Brothers Grimm.
The exhibition also provides an insight into the history of Arabic and German fairy and folk tales, and how the two traditions influenced each other. It aims to show the transcultural value of narrative traditions as a shared intangible cultural heritage and highlight mutual influences, shared ideas and cultural transfer between the Arab world and Germany through storytelling and tales up to today. Although in both the Arab world and Germany these famous tales originated for an adult audience, today they are perceived as fictional literature for children and figure prominently in modern adaptations, including film. While the first Heritage Library Exhibition begun yesterday at the QNL. It displays more than 400 items from the QNL Heritage Library collection that illustrate the spread and evolution of ideas throughout the Arabic and Islamic world, as well as document interactions between the Arab world and the West over the past several centuries.
Also QNL’s ‘Book Club for the Blind’ project was launched by the President of the World Blind Union, Dr Fredrick K. Schroeder. It aims at giving social opportunities and promotes equal access to the resources and services of the library. While, during a discussion on ‘Truth Matters: The Era of Fake News,’ a line-up of journalists, academics, diplomats, library leaders and experts on Middle East affairs discussed ways in which ‘fake news’ is being used in the current political climate to manipulate political agendas and what should be done about it.
