PARIS: The Sultanate of Oman has officially received the certificate of inscription for the manuscript Al Nūniyya Al Kubrā (The Great Ode) by the renowned Omani navigator Ahmed bin Majid into Unesco’s Memory of the World Programme.
The handover took place during a meeting between Amna bint Salim al Balushiyah, Oman's Permanent Delegate to Unesco and Dr Tawfik Jelassi, Unesco's Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, at the organisation's headquarters in Paris, France.
This achievement crowns the joint efforts of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, in collaboration with the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science; and the Permanent Delegation to Unesco, to highlight the manuscript’s historical and scientific value.
Al Nūniyya Al Kubrā is considered one of the most significant works in the fields of navigation and maritime sciences.
The manuscript is distinguished by its advanced geographical vision, proposing a novel division of the Earth into fourteen regions encompassing both hemispheres — surpassing the traditional division limited to seven regions in the Northern Hemisphere alone. It also contains detailed descriptions of the meetings encountered by the author and his navigational crew, alongside rich documentation of maritime life, including marine species and natural phenomena.
It is worth mentioning that Unesco's Memory of the World Programme, launched in 1992, aims to safeguard humanity's documentary heritage from loss and oblivion. Its selection criteria emphasise authenticity, rarity, historical significance and cross-border cultural and social impact. — ONA
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