Head of US Smithsonian`s National Museum visits ANAS Ganja branch

Baku, February 2 (AzerTAc). Prof. Paul Michael Taylor, head of the Smithsonian`s National Museum of Natural History has visited Ganja branch of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS). He met director of the branch Fuad Aliyev who informed him of history and activities of the facilities. Lately printed monographs including books on 870th anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi were presented to Mr. Taylor. He also got acquainted with preparations for 900th jubilee of poetess Mahsati Ganjavi, who made an outstanding contribution to the development of Azerbaijan`s poetry. As part of his Ganja tour, the American professor visited an ancient two-storey underground museum discovered during excavations in Ganja, and Shah Abbas Mosque (Juma Mosque of Ganja) built in 1606. Prof. Paul Michael Taylor serves as Curator of Asian, European, and Middle Eastern Ethnology. He has written numerous books and scholarly articles on the ethnography, ethnobiology, languages, and art (or material culture) of Asia, especially Indonesia. He has also curated seventeen museum exhibitions, and served as the consulting anthropologist for five documentary anthropological films. The recipient of numerous international grants and awards, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Asian Studies, and has been a longtime member of the Smithsonian`s Asian-Pacific American Heritage Committee. As head of a Virtual Museum project, he oversaw the successful development of collection digitization efforts in Indonesia and the Philippines. His work with museum professionals from many countries includes an "International Partnership Among Museums" award from the American Association of Museums for a virtual exhibition project with the National Museum of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Taylor also serves as Senior Consultant for Social and Resettlement Issues for the World Bank Inspection Panel.