Ernst Herzfeld: Große Moschee, Südfront, 1911-1913. Glasnegativ, 18 x 13 cm, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Inv. Nr. Pl. Sam 307
In 2013, for the 100 year anniversary of the excavation, the Museum of Islamic Art showed an exhibition of the legendary residential city Samarra, located around 120 km north of Baghdad by the Tigris, which served as a seat of government for the powerful Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892. Samarra was one of the world's most elaborate city complexes. It covered an almost 50 km expanse with its gigantic palaces, mosques, hunting reserves, polo playing fields and horse racing tracks.
The following interviews were given as part of the exhibition "Samarra - Centre of the World, 100 and 1 Years of Archaeological Research by the Tigris".
Zein Alnaqshbandi and Omar Hussein
Samarra 2012
Julia Gonnella
Samarra - the centre of the world
Excavtion and sites in Samarra
Amir and Miriam Mahdi
Samarra in the '80s
Stefan Weber
Samarra in the Museum for Islamic Art
MORE STORIES ABOUT SAMARRA
DIGITALISING SAMARRA
All of the 1.500 or so preserved photographs of two excavation campaigns are now available for the first time.
