Resources

Inspired by the British Museum’s video Hajj Stories, staff at the Asian Art Museum asked Bay Area Muslims who have performed the hajj to share experiences of their journeys.

Inspired by the British Museum’s video Hajj Stories, staff at the Asian Art Museum asked Bay Area Muslims who have performed the hajj to share experiences of their journeys.

Inspired by the British Museum’s video Hajj Stories, staff at the Asian Art Museum asked Bay Area Muslims who have performed the hajj to share experiences of their journeys.

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Leta Busyhead, tells a story about Cyrus the Great and the Cyrus Cylinder in the Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia exhibition at the Asian Art Museum (August 9–September 22, 2013).

The Bay Area’s own Ballet Afsaneh, a dynamic ensemble whose repertory focuses on Silk Road regions in Central Asia, will perform colorful, kinetic traditional dance.

By constructing a graph that visually reflects a time span, students will gain a basic understanding of BCE and CE and specifically when key events happened in Afghanistan.

Decorated pages intended for a Koran, approx. 1500. Turkey. Manuscript page; Gold and colors on paper. Gift of Elton L. Puffer, 2004.67.

Hear the inscriptions on this rare drinking cup in white jade from the Timurid period (1370-1507) read aloud. The first inscription is in Arabic and the second is in Persian.

To expose students to terminology used by archaeologists and to heighten awareness of the rich discoveries in Afghanistan. Students make visual observations, write clear, succinct descriptions, form hypothesis on the function of the artwork, and investigate the influences of different cultures on art found along the Silk Road in Afghanistan.

Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, was a distinct tradition within Islam that aimed to cultivate inner spiritual life. Sufism probably derives from the word suf, meaning wool, a reference to the woolen clothing worn by early Sufi mystics. The focus of Sufism changed over the centuries as Islam grew and expanded. Initially moved by the fear of God, Sufism eventually adopted an affirming doctrine of love, and later the concept of the spiritual journey of the individual towards God.