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Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, TDIC is proud to present Splendours of Mesopotamia.

This exhibition introduces the history of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, a crucial region in the development of human civilisation. Through trade and contact over long distances, Mesopotamia became a great junction at the very centre of civilization, where art and literature flourished and it is considered the birthplace of the first truly ‘international cities’.

The story of this exhibition will be told through the three great centres of Mesopotamian civilisation: Sumer, Assyria and Babylon. The first section on Sumer looks at the growth of society and its contact with the wider world in the third millennium BCE. Objects excavated from the Hafeet and Umm an-Nar cultures, based in modern day Abu Dhabi and contemporaneous of Sumer, will demonstrate the close links between Sumer and the Gulf region. The exhibition will also explore how knowledge has been passed from the ancient to the modern world, particularly in the areas of science, communication, art and literature, and will showcase treasures that link to the United Arab Emirates. The stunning array of object featured in Splendours of Mesopotamia are on loan from the British Museum and Al Ain National Museum.

Splendours of Mesopotamia also marks a significant milestone in the journey towards the realisation of Abu Dhabi´s cultural vision, being the first in a series of exhibitions preparing the way for the opening of Zayed National Museum in the Saadiyat Cultural District.  The exhibition affords a tantalising glimpse of the likely contents of the Zayed National Museum, whose galleries will each illustrate a different value or principle highly prized by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to whom the museum is dedicated.

Splendours of Mesopotamia will be shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. Click here to download the map for directions.
29 March - 27 June 2011
Open Daily, 10am - 8pm
Entry is complimentary, guided tours are available upon request
An exciting range of public and educational programmes for people of all ages will accompany the exhibition.