An exhibition named 'Saved Treasures of Gaza' at Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris highlights over 5,000 years of Gaza's cultural and archaeological history. This exhibition features more than 100 objects, illustrating Gaza's significance as a trade hub and cultural crossroads since Neolithic times. The lead curator emphasizes the importance of restoring Gaza's historical narrative instead of focusing solely on its recent tragedies. By showcasing a diverse range of artifacts, the exhibition aims to depict Gaza's long-standing heritage and connections to various cultures in the Mediterranean region.
For thousands of years, Gaza's location on the eastern Mediterranean made it a prosperous oasis. It was a trade hub, intellectual powerhouse and centre of learning.
We wanted to give Gaza its history back. It was about restoring the humanity of Gaza and making its long history visible again, rather than reducing it to a discourse dominated by contemporary history.
Gaza was the most open space in the Mediterranean. It was a territory that was extremely rich, that produced a lot of food and whose connections to Africa and Asia made it a place of festival and celebration.
The focus on contemporary history risks depicting Gaza as a zone of tragedy, a bubble where only devastation is possible, when in fact there is a long human history in Gaza.
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