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DILMN

h٦e British Expedition worked in Markh and Dira sites, The French Expedition dug in
site of the [slam Palace, ncar Bahrain Fort. Ethnography or Fol;k Tradition was the
nd nmajor subject we were conccrned about, In the bcginning we attcmpted to limit the
of the cthnographical materials, by cncouraging people to contribute what they
ssed or by sclling thcn to the muscum.
Many objects wcre accummulatcd, somc of them displayed in the largest gallcry in the
eum, and the remainder were stored for future projects.
e have now the intcntion to transform Siyadi House into an ethnographical museum,
ing the history of diving for pearls in Bahrain because the previous owner of the house
a famous pearl mcrchant.
After the restoration works in Shaikh Isa House in Muharraq, are complete, we intend
repare it traditionally, in an attractive way with old furniture, costumes and equipment
٦e style of morc than one hundred years ago, to enliven the house with scenes from the
ious near past.
Our efforts also took the direction of establishing another important division in the
:eum, dedicated to manuscripts and documents. An expert in the field has been invited to
st in collecting old manuscripts and documents to study, classify, catalogue and to display
١e of them in the gallery which was previously the museum cafeteria, as mentioned

)re.

At present the Directorate is planning to qualify its staff as best it possibly can, to assure
rapid technical developments in the fields of museum design, conservation, restoration,
avation, documentation, research and administration in general.
Te iniMstry of Information has an ambitious plan to establish the ufture 'Museum of
rain, It will be thoroughly modern and comprehensive. It iwll contribute to the
،loyment of knowledge and culture, It will be one of the props for tourism, wihch the
vemment ni many different ways is interested in the development of in order that it
omse an income resource in the future of Bahrain.

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