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RELIGION

Giant pages from ancient Quran on display in Washington, DC

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Massumeh Farhad, left, and Simon Rettig, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) (The Associated Press)

  • 9ffb647a-
    Image 2 of 3

    In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Simon Rettig, left, and Massumeh Farhad, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) (The Associated Press)

  • 2a68e95c-
    Image 3 of 3

    In this photo taken Oct. 20, 2016, Simon Rettig, left, and Massumeh Farhad, curators of the exhibit "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," look at pages from a 5-foot by 7-foot Quran displayed as part of the exhibit at the Sackler Gallery in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) (The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON – Books come in all sizes, but one 15th century Quran was so enormous, it's said that a wheelbarrow was needed to carry it.

Two consecutive pages of this Quran will be on display during the show "The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts," which opens Saturday at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The sprawling pages, each measuring 5 feet by 7 feet, with rows of calligraphy standing 8 to 9 inches high, date from about 1400.

Like many items in the exhibit focused on the Muslim holy book, curator Massumeh Farhad says these pages come with a story. This one involves the feared nomadic conqueror, Timur, who ruled a huge empire based in central Asia.

As the story goes, Timur was unimpressed when presented with a Quran so small that it fit inside a signet ring. So calligrapher Omar Aqta' tried again, creating this giant Quran and so pleasing Timur that he was rewarded handsomely.