Al-Ma鈥檃rri the Poet
Why was the bust of a blind, vegetarian, medieval Arabic poet the casualty of Syria's modern war?
The Museum of Lost Objects traces the histories of 10 antiquities or cultural sites that have been destroyed or looted in Iraq and Syria.
In 2013, Islamic militants decapitated the statue of an 11th Century Arabic poet that stood in his hometown of Maarat al-Nu鈥檓an, a city that鈥檚 seen heavy fighting during the Syrian conflict. The poet al-Ma鈥檃rri was one of the most revered in Syria, and poetry enthusiasts tell his story 鈥� he was blind, vegetarian, atheist, and some even claim that his work inspired Dante鈥檚 Divine Comedy.
This episode was first broadcast on 8 March, 2016.
Presenter: Kanishk Tharoor
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Contributors: Nasser Rabbat, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mahmoud al-Sheikh, 91热爆 Arabic; the reading is by Susan Jameson
Picture: Statue of al-Ma'arri with the sculptor Fathi Mohammed in the 1940s, and the statue after its decapitation in 2013
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- Tue 8 Mar 2016 12:0491热爆 Radio 4
- Mon 17 Aug 2020 14:4591热爆 Radio 4 FM
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Museum of Lost Objects
Tracing the histories of antiquities and landmarks that have been destroyed or looted.
