On the sidelines of Mosul’s Traditional Music Festival, an Arabic calligraphy exhibition draws visitors to Mosul’s museum, a cultural institution that had been looted and damaged by Daesh, Reuters reports.

Visitors gathered in Mosul’s museum on Thursday (24 March) for the opening of a calligraphy exhibition entitled ‘The Rhythm of Letters’ by Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb, an Iraqi calligrapher.

The exhibition was part of the opening events of the ‘Mosul Traditional Music Festival’, an international festival bringing together musicians from Iraq and abroad for four days.

“The exhibition, entitled ‘The Rhythm of Letters’ is composed of 20 pieces that are written by hand, using calligraphy. This type of writing has deep roots in our Arabic Islamic heritage. This city had a very big role in developing Arabic calligraphy and developing a style particular to the city. This exhibition is special because most of the works are done using the ‘Thirds’ font. Another unique feature is that most of the works, if not all of them, are done using hand-made paper and hand-made ink,” Abdel-Mottaleb said.

With the museum not yet re-opened to the public, visitors enjoyed the rare occasion to visit the iconic institution that many hope will soon reclaim its place as one of the cultural landmarks of Mosul.

Source: Middle East Monitor