Military Museum in Sana’a [Archives:2005/875/Culture]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
Museums are the repositories of history, the vaults of civilization wherein the pride, traditions and transformations of a culture are stored and displayed. They are sites of education, reflection and testaments to the past.

Site

The military museum lies in the middle of Altahrir Square. There lies in its courtyard the first Ottoman canon that entered Yemen.

Historical importance

The museum itself is a historical building. It was built at the end of the 19th century in 1317 h corresponding to 1902, when the Ottomans were occupying Sana'a.

When it was first built it was meant to be a school for industrial workers. It remained to be a school for sometimes during the Ottoman period of occupation.

It was changed into a prison for Imam Ahmed Hamedudeen's opponents in 1920. It used to be known as industrial prison.

The building was changed once again into a guesthouse for the Iraqi military mission in 1940.

At the brake out of the revolution in 1962, it was still a guesthouse, and then it was again changed into a building for the ministry of interior and security.

The president changed it into a military museum in 1984.

The museum covers several historical eras, main among them being:

1. Use of stone weapons by the army.

2. Yemeni Army in old ages (Yemeni civilization era)

3. Yemeni army in the middle ages (before Islam and at the outset of Islam)

4. The Yemeni army in the Ottoman and Imam era.

5. The Yemeni army after the revolution of the 26th of September 1962.The documents, the roles, the patriots and the reasons of the revolution are all documented and regulated in this museum.

There are samples of old weapons which were used in this revolution. They vary from American to Russian and German guns. The museum also contains old cars of former rulers such as that of Imam Ahmed and president Al-Sallal.
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