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Syria's National Museum reopens its doors after 6 years of civil war

Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis of the Aga Khan Museum discusses how the reopening of the National Museum of Damascus allows Syrians to restore pride in their rich cultural heritage.
CBC Radio ·
Visitors leave the national antiquities museum in the Syrian capital Damascus after visiting it on October 28, 2018. Syria reopened a wing of the capital's famed antiquities museum today after six years of closure to protect its exhibits from the civil war. (AFP/Getty Images)

When the Syrian Civil War threatened the capital of Damascus in 2012, authorities at Syria's National Museum had to act quickly to protect more than 300,000 artifacts. For six years, the museum has remained empty, until this week when it finally reopened its doors.

Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis is the director of collections and public programs at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. She joins Tom Power to explain what the reopening of Syria's National Museum means for the country and the art world as a whole. 

— Produced by ​Frank Palmer

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