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Oct. 5th, 2016
A UConn Puppet Arts alumni along with community supporters of Frank Ballard created the Puppet Preservation Committee which eventually became the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry. There's a graduate program in puppetry. It is a very small place but packed with charm and puppetry magic.
( more photos )
Iraq opens new antiquities museum in Basra
Oct. 5th, 2016 10:36 pmBAGHDAD — Iraq opened a new antiquities museum in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday with pottery, coins and other artifacts dating back more than 2,000 years.
Only one hall was opened due to a shortage of funds. It will showcase artifacts dating back to 400 B.C. that tell the history of the oil-rich city on the Persian Gulf.
Only one hall was opened due to a shortage of funds. It will showcase artifacts dating back to 400 B.C. that tell the history of the oil-rich city on the Persian Gulf.
There are plans to open other wings that would exhibit Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian artifacts from across Iraq dating back to 3,300 B.C. Iraq is currently in the grip of an economic crisis linked to the plunge in global oil prices and the war against the Islamic State group.
The museum is housed in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces, which had briefly served as a mess hall for British troops after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew him. the location was chosen in order to “replace the themes of dictatorship and tyranny with civilianization and humanity.
”The museum was conceived in 2008 after the British withdrawal, and was partly funded by a U.K. charity. The hall that opened Tuesday cost an estimated $750,000, of which $500,000 was provided by the oil company BP, which operates in Basra.Iraq’s oil-rich south is far from the front lines of the war with the Islamic State group, which has destroyed ancient sites in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.
The museum is housed in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces, which had briefly served as a mess hall for British troops after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew him. the location was chosen in order to “replace the themes of dictatorship and tyranny with civilianization and humanity.
”The museum was conceived in 2008 after the British withdrawal, and was partly funded by a U.K. charity. The hall that opened Tuesday cost an estimated $750,000, of which $500,000 was provided by the oil company BP, which operates in Basra.Iraq’s oil-rich south is far from the front lines of the war with the Islamic State group, which has destroyed ancient sites in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.