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This fragment is part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" carpet.
Through the fragment we trace the journey of the fragment owners and their collabs as they explore, experiment and creatively advance socially relevant themes. Here is the fragment as we are sending it on this three and a half-year journey.
Follow this story to observe the transformations the fragment undergoes over the course of these years.
What is SHAP?
More information about the network
We are a network of different projects of the Museum for Islamic Art, focusing on various topics related to Syrian heritage. Together, our aim is to document, preserve and present the richness of Syrian heritage for everyone.
Our Mission
Syria is a diverse country with the world´s oldest inhabited cities, very different landscapes and important archaeological sites. Together with its rich traditions, diverse cultures and orally-transmitted knowledge it forms a living mosaic of cultural traditions, customs, different languages, ethnicities and religions. This cultural richness is unique and deserves to be preserved for future generations.
Learn more about the project and its efforts here: Syrian Heritage Archive Project
...And on it goes...
...WITH SYRIAN HERITAGE ARCHIVE TEAM – HIBA BIZREH
As I traversed the city of Soissons, which is predominantly grey, I felt compelled to photograph the melancholy monuments that surrounded me. However, after adorning the grey stones of the churches with the scarlet and yellow threads of my carpet, spring suddenly burst forth in my pictures, transforming the sombre landscape into a vibrant tapestry of colour.
It can be argued that the city is largely unknown to the global population, particularly in Europe. However, those who have visited Soissons are aware of the numerous historical civilisations that have contributed to its development over time, as well as the numerous religious monuments that can be found in the heart of the city.
It is fascinating to see how a piece of dragon carpet, brought to a small town like Soissons, finds its way into its old churches. It's as if it's looking for carpets that adorn the floors of religious buildings, with the aim to weave a new story that blends elements of the East and West.
Traversing the small town of Soissons
Following a decade of residence in Strasbourg, a city renowned as the Christmas capital of the world and a major border town characterised by its distinctive pink buildings, I relocated to the small town of Soissons. Initially, the gloom of the city's grey architecture was overwhelming. However, upon learning about its history, from its Roman takeover in 52 BC to its liberation by King Clovis in 486 AD, the establishment of the Kingdom of Soissons as the first capital of the Frankish kingdom, its medieval prosperity and the construction of many Gothic buildings, a sense of pride in being a Soissoner emerged.
Thus, I was motivated to have a piece of the Dragon Carpet and traverse the city with it, which is characterised by a lack of vibrancy in its colour palette, but boasts a rich historical legacy.
The Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais Cathedral Basilica in Soissons is a Roman Catholic cathedral constructed in the classical Gothic style.
The Church of Saint-Pierre-au-Parvis in Soissons is a Roman Catholic Church constructed in the Romanesque architectural style.
The museums of Soissons are located within the premises of two former abbeys, namely Saint-Léger and Saint-Jean-des-Vignes.
The journey begins...
...with Syrian Heritage Archive team - Dima Dayoub
When I first saw the 100 replica pieces of the damaged 400-year-old Caucasian dragon carpet with the missing parts in white, I carefully tried to weave them altogether and reconstruct the whole carpet in my mind. For a moment, I imagined it as one of the carpets from the oriental mythological tales that tell of the magic flying carpet of Sindbad and Aladdin that travelled all over the world; mentioned in the book of Thousand and One Nights. With the imagination of children, I dreamt as a kid of having a magic carpet and travelling with it over cities, seas, rivers, forests and mountains.
Myths are stories of an imagined past – it is said. When I got my fragment #20 of the dragon carpet replica I dreamt myself back on that carpet and roaming with it to Syria, which narrates - like the dragon carpet - a long history of heritage and ancient cultures that have offered humanity so beautiful objects referring to the development of civilisations.
For several years I have been working with the Syrian Heritage Archive Project at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, and I was able to host one piece of the Caucasian carpet for 3 months. Starting from Berlin, a city of museums that hosts treasures from civilizations from all over the world, the carpet piece crossed the Mediterranean Sea and took me to Beirut, a city which bears witness of the Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman and Arab civilisations. At a distance of around 100 km to the east, is one of the oldest capital in the world: Damascus, to where we continued our journey. In the centre of the city, more precisely inside the Umayyad Mosque, the history of the carpet merges with the different eras of civilization that have succeeded one another in this sacred site. And – as the highlight of my journey with the carpet we arrived in my home town Aleppo, the capital of the Hamdanid state and one of the largest and oldest inhabited cities in the world. There in front of its citadel, the colourful tapestry of the carpet threads mingles with a complex mosaic of many cultures that have left their mark on every corner of this touching place.
Unfortunately the carpet and me had to leave the warm Levant spheres and come back to winterly Berlin.
Front and Back
About the Project
The Museum for Islamic Art's project, #CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the future, celebrates the transformative power of cultural exchange and the shared threads that unite us all. All the things we love, have loved and will ever love come from cultural exchange, migration and diversity, or as we like to call it #CulturalxCollabs.
100 carpet fragments, cut from a replica of the iconic dragon carpet, will travel the world (delivered by DHL). The fragments will ignite #CulturalxCollabs with co-creators, inspiring human ingenuity, fostering community and ultimately demonstrating how cultural exchange enriches all our lives.
Follow #CulturalxCollabs on Instagram as the project unfolds...
...or learn more here
Weaving the Future
Join us on a journey with 100 carpet fragments as they travel around the world for three and a half years, finding temporary homes while bridging cultural boundaries, fostering worldwide community united by the power of human stories.
Fragment Journeys
100 carpet fragments part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project. Follow their journeys through the ever changing owners' over three and a half years.
Where is the Dragon?
The star of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project is a so-called Caucasian dragon carpet from the 17th century. A dragon carpet - all well and good - but: where is the dragon?
