Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 1992, pages 52-53

Special Report

Twelve Pavilions Represent Arabs at Seville's Expo '92

By Pat and Samir Twair

Arab countries are well represented in Seville's Expo '92, marking the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' first discovery voyage to the Americas.

This world's fair extravaganza has been in the making since the Spanish monarchy was restored in 1976, and King Juan Carlos announced that Spain would host a "universal exposition" in 1992 to celebrate the opening of "the Age of Discovery." The exposition will continue for 176 days, ending October 12, the date Columbus arrived in the New World.

The 620-acre fairgrounds are situated on Cartuja Island, traditionally separated from Seville by two branches of the Guadalquivir River, and the site of the monastery of Las Cuevas, where Columbus lived briefly while charting his fateful voyage.

The monastery, which had become a ceramics factory before it finally was deserted altogether, has been restored for fairgoers to catch a glimpse of life as it was in the 15th century. Five new bridges enable Sevillians to reach the fair and an entire new city, Ciudad Expo, which will provide housing for an estimated 300,000 persons after the world's fair closes. Perhaps because 1492 also was the year the Arabs relinquished their 800-year rule over Andalusia (southern Spain), there are 12 Arab pavilions among 110 exhibits representing more than 80 countries.

The Thousand and One Nights come alive as fairgoers approach the double-domed fortress of the Sultanate of Oman. Entering through a carved cedar door from Muscat, visitors inhale frankincense as they are guided to the "heritage dome." Here, video tapes and displays explain the prehistory of Oman and the legend of its most famous seaman, Sinbad. Early trade routes, ships and the birth of navigation all are explained, before viewers move on to observe Omani craftsmen at the potter's wheel or carving furniture. The "renaissance dome" allows visitors to see how, during the past two decades, Oman has stepped into the industrialized 20th century while preserving its ancient heritage.

Saudi Arabia's enormous exhibit is easily one of the top five national pavilions. The exterior is a replica of the old fortress in Riyadh. Here crowds assemble to watch tribal dances, before walking on sand as they progress through a simulated natural cave with pre-Islamic sculptures displayed in niches. As visitors emerge, Arab rhythms provide the audio background as changing lights play on Bedouin tents to simulate a day in the desert, from sunset to sunrise. Extensive displays include costumes and house interiors from various regions of Saudi Arabia, early examples of the Holy Qur'an, a model of the Great Mosque at Mecca, and working models explaining the scientific and engineering principles of the creation, discovery, extraction and refining of petroleum.

1492 also was the year the Arabs relinquished their 800-year rule over Andalusia.

At Jordan's pavilion, visitors walk through a miniature replica of the Siq, a narrow rock cleft leading to the lost city of Petra, with its columned stone "treasury" carved out of solid rock by the Nabateans, whose ancient Arab kingdom was contemporary with Roman civilization. Also on view are a 4th-millennium B.C. mural, prehistoric figurines and sculptures from Jordan's 2nd century A.D. Roman city of Philadelphia, on the site of present-day Amman. A replica of a 6th century A.D. mosaic map from a church in the Jordanian town of Madaba depicts Jerusalem as the center of the pre-Islamic Middle East, surrounded by Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Jordan also has reproduced the interior of the desert hunting castle of Qusayr Amra, constructed from 705 to 715 A.D. and used by Umayyad caliphs.

Syria has permitted more than 135 of its national archeological treasures to be displayed at Expo '92. Here, under the loving eyes of Prof. Kassem Toueir, the priceless objects have been placed in displays marked "the first technology," "the first ceramics," "the first jewelry," and "first archive." The Syrian pavilion reproduces the experience of stepping into the famed archeological museum in Damascus, and the displays are the original artifacts, not replicas. The most valuable object in the collection is the "first alphabet," a clay tablet from Ugarit bearing 30 phonetic characters—not pictographs or hieroglyphics.

Also on exhibit for the first time from Ebla are clay tablets described as the "world's first treaty," the "first dictionary," and the "first letter in an envelope," a clay tablet sealed inside a hollow clay tablet addressed to the recipient. Another remarkable piece is the miniature terra-cotta four-wheeled votive chariot, dated to 2900 B.C. and demonstrating the earliest known use of the wheel.

Carthaginian sculptures and mosaics beckon guests to the Tunisian pavilion, a white domed structure with the Mediterranean blue trimming familiar to every visitor to the picturesque village of Sidi Bou Said just north of Tunis and Carthage. Exquisite mosaics of the Roman and Christian eras make this a must for antiquity buffs.

Visitors experience the sensation of walking into a pyramid when they enter the Egyptian pavilion. Walking through the simulated pyramid, they are greeted by an alabaster sculpture of Khefra, the second pharaoh to build a pyramid. Ninety original objects from the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic and Early Islamic periods are on view. A 4th century Coptic curtain is displayed for the first time outside Egypt. A 7th century gravestone is the first known example of the Ankh and the Cross in combination. A genuinely impressive sculpture is a colossal arm and fist from the Ptolemaic period of Alexandria that is being exhibited in Europe for the first time.

The United Arab Emirates has created a replica of the turn-of-the-century fort with crenellated walls which still stands, restored and surrounded by modern buildings, in the inland UAE oasis town of Al Ain. Dr. Walid Yasin oversaw preparation of elaborate displays depicting finds from the prehistoric period. These include replicas of early Bronze Age domed tombs, circular settlements of the 3rd millennium B.C., and pottery, stone objects and spearheads of the 2nd millennium. Artifacts depict the transitional Iron Age (1500-100 B.C.) and a headless stone eagle attests to the masonry skills of 1st century Arab artists of the Gulf. The lower level of the pavilion features a glass pyramid and diaramas explaining petroleum production.

Morocco invested millions of dollars in a breathtaking four-story palace of mosaic tile columns and floors, inlaid stucco grillwork, cedar carved ceilings and illuminated fountains. The building, which includes a restaurant on the top floor, will remain in use, possibly as a museum, after the fair closes and the island becomes a Spanish version of the Silicon Valley, housing research institutes, laboratories and university facilities.

The Kuwaiti pavilion is a stepped arch with overhead roof for passersby to rest. The League of Arab States exhibit explains the key Arab contributions to the world's knowledge of navigation, cartography, medicine, chemistry and physics. Mauritanian and Algerian pavilions also will open early in Expo '92's six-month run.

Pat Twair and her husband Samir Twair are free-lance writers based in Southern California.

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