‘Antiques Museum’… a dream came true

Damascus, SANA – From an early age Haitham Tabakheh has had fondness for everything that has to do with antiquities and the Damascene handicrafts.

Once a young man, Haitham, who is nicknamed Abo Mohammad, told SANA that he would frequent oriental antiquities shops near the Umayyad Mosque, where he nurtured an ardent passion for each piece his eyes laid on.

He fell in love with all the mosaic and shell inlaid boxes, chess sets, lutes and brassware he saw, a love that soon took over him and grew into a dream he came to realize a few years later.

The dream came true with Abo Mohammad using a 130 m2 old house in al-Qanawat neighborhood in Damascus as a gallery to display all antiques, handicrafts, unique photos and coins and ancient Damascene household utensils and materials.

The unique “Antiques Museum”, as Abo Mohammad likes to call it, seems to be “an invaluable treasure” for the man, who is in his 60s.

A 250-year old French sword is among the most beloved possessions Abo Mohammad seems so proud to have collected and showcased in an chronologically organized way.

Among the exhibits are a variety of Damascene dishes and flowers, with Abo Mohammad aims to soon allocate a place to display the Damascene rural costumes.

H. Said