Museum dedicated to the Umayyad is set to open in Byblos

Lebanese American University (LAU) and Byblos Municipality recently signed an agreement to open a museum dedicated to the Umayyad at the LAU-Louis Cardahi Foundation in Byblos. The museum is part of the larger project of the Umayyad Route project, a tourist initiative spanning the Mediterranean region. The museum launch date will be between December18-21.

$190,000 has been provided for the museum from a total EU grant of €4,153,653 (approximately $4.4 million) for the entire Umayyad Route project, according to Rachid Chamoun, Director of the LAU-Cardahi Foundation and coordinator of the project in Lebanon.

He said that LAU will provide ten percent of the budget to be provided by Byblos Municipality toward the museum.

The museum will offer an interactive experience for tourists and locals. Part of the building will be dedicated to Byblos where resources about the city will be kept for research and study purposes according to Chammoun.

The Umayyad project aims to improve Mediterranean territorial cohesion through setup of a tourist-cultural itinerary.

Reported by Derek A. Issacs