The Middle East comes to Europe

Jeroen and I took advantage of the perfect autumn weather yesterday to visit our own little piece of the Middle East right here in Nijmegen. The concept of open air "museums" is big here. Last year we visited the open air museum in Arnhem, a beautiful re creation of how the Dutch have lived over the past 250 years. All the exhibits are real buildings etc specially "imported" from different parts of the country, and include everything from a windmill, an old lolly shop, a 1970s house, to a farmhouse from the 1990s moved to the museum when the farmers had to make way for the construction of a freeway. See the museum website for more details and photos: http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/english

Anyway, back to yesterday! We visited the Bible open air museum situated amongst the lovely greenery of the Berg en Dal forest. Despite the fact that neither of us are religious, it was really interesting! It is a pretty good attempt to create an understanding of the history of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and has recreated authentic examples of village life, bedouin camps, and the influence of the Romans on the Holy Lands. Pretty funny to see those types of buildings against the backdrop of European trees instead of out in the middle of a desert. Lots of interaction with the "locals" was included - we were able to enjoy glasses of herbal tea, taste some freshly baked Bedouin flatbread, and test our musical skills by blowing on some kind of goat's horn thingy!

Not sure why this concept of open air museums hasn't taken off in Australia. It's a really fun and interactive way of learning history.

Alli xxx