The Manuscripts and Cultural Heritage Unit at the University of Human Development (UHD) opened its first exhibition for Kurdish manuscripts on 27th March 2023 named ‘The Neglected Jewels’. Pictures with descriptions of more than fifty old manuscripts were displayed on stands in the main corridor of Building C at UHD.

The manuscripts belonged to famous Kurdish scientists, religious scholars, historians, mathematicians, astrologists, poets, and literary writers that were composed in different historical periods, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century.

UHD President Prof. Dr Mariwan Ahmed Rasheed and in the presence of members of the university’s Presidential Council and deans of colleges opened the exhibition. The organiser of the exhibition Asst Prof. Dr Hardi Mahdi Mika gave the visitors details about each piece including an ancient manuscript on pandemic causes which inspired him to write a book about it.

The event caught the interest of the local media. Speaking to them, the UHD president said that his university looks with great interest at the contributions of the Kurdish scholars to the Islamic and world civilisations and this exhibition was a means by which the young generation would become aware of the great work of their ancestors, and they can be proud of them. He added that collecting old manuscripts and preserving them for the purpose of study and research is a noble and important task and it is a great service to the country.