Princess Sanaa inaugurates Circassian culture exhibition

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Monday inaugurated the Circassian Heritage Exhibition, organised by writer and researcher Adnan Bzadog at the Circassian Society in Zarqa. 

Bzadog and exhibition guests accompanied Princess Sanaa on a tour of the exhibition, which showcased books and research about Circassian culture in Arabic, English, Circassian and Russian, in addition to children’s stories in Circassian. 

“I have been working on collecting the written and visual history of the Circassian culture for over 40 years, books written in Circassian, English, Arabic, Turkish and Russian, and documents from different eras,” Bzadog told The Jordan Times at the exhibition.

The researcher said that he showcases the collection at his house, which has seen over 1,200 visitors, adding: “We also have an area designated for antiques and tools that Circassians used throughout history for carpentry and welding, in addition to costumes for men and women.”

This is the 20th edition of the Circassian Heritage Exhibition, Bzadog said, adding that the first exhibition was “the first of its kind in Jordan and the Middle East, held at the southern beach in Aqaba, underwater, where the artefacts were showcased with the help of divers”. 

Also showcased at the current exhibition are documents from the Ottoman era and the time of Jordan’s establishment among others, rich with Circassian history throughout various periods of time, while one area highlighted the strong relations between Circassian families and Jordanian families and tribes. 

Clothes, old houses and other antiques, such as swords and wagons, are exhibited, with excerpts explaining the history pertaining to them.

Khaled Maslamani, a guest at the exhibit, said: “This is great effort by Adnan Bzadog, and this is like a museum that tells the story of the Circassian history, not only in Jordan but  also in the Arab world.”

“There are a lot documents, culture, images, costumes and folklore here, and even a model of old Circassian buildings,” he added.