Rio de Janeiro – On February 27th, 1532, sheikh Mohammad, of Oman, wrote a letter to King John III, of Portugal, to thank him for the hospitality granted to his subject, Abu Hasson. The document is included in an exhibition of the historic archives of international relations of Oman since the 16th Century, which began on Tuesday (27) at the National Archives, in Rio de Janeiro.
Apart from the letter of thanks to the king of Portugal, the exhibition also brings a message of complaint to the monarch due to his soldiers and to the maps made by Portuguese explorers of the cities of Muscat and Moutrah, when Portugal was present in Oman, from 1507 to 1650.
The documents were brought by representatives of the National Records and Archives Authority of Oman, who are in Brazil this week to research documents showing points in common in the history of both countries. The delegation met with Jaime Antunes da Silva, director general of the National Archives of Brazil, on Tuesday (27).
Copies of 50 documents brought by the Omanis also show records like a copy of a letter by French politician Felix Faure to the sultan of Oman, Faysal Bin Turki, on January 28th, 1895, in which the Frenchman informs the Omani that he has become president of France and stresses the continued friendly relations between both nations. A trade agreement signed on October 10th, 1885, between Oman and Italy may also be viewed by those visiting the exhibition.
Those interested in learning about the historic records on international relations with Oman must hurry. The exhibition will only be in Rio de Janeiro up to Tuesday (3/9), then it will head to the Public Archives of the State of Bahia, in Salvador, where it will remain for a week. At the exhibition, there are also records of relations between Oman and the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, Iran and Japan.
Established in 2007, the National Records and Archives Authority of Oman has over 100,000 documents. With 200 employees, the organisation promotes services like microfilming and digitalisation of historic archives, restoration and also translation of documents from Arabic into English and French.
Service
Exhibition of historic documents of Oman
National Archives of Rio de Janeiro
Up to September 3rd
Address: Praça da República, 173
P Building – Entrance hall
Time: from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, from Monday to Friday
Admittance is free
*Translated by Mark Ament
