|
Preserving Cultural Heritage
A Global Exchange at the Marston House Museum
November/December 2025
 Our distinguished international guests gathered with SOHO Executive Director Bruce Coons, Education Director Alana Coons, and the Marston House curator and historian Robin Lakin for a group photo. |
SOHO was honored to host an extraordinary group of international guests in October 2025 at the Marston House Museum, as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Their visit, titled “Preserving Cultural Heritage: A Regional Project for the Near East and North Africa,” was arranged by World Learning and coordinated locally through the San Diego Diplomacy Council.
Our visitors—archaeologists, museum directors, tourism development leaders, and arts professionals—hailed from Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia, joined by interpreters who added insight and warmth to the lively conversation.
While the group’s broader U.S. program addressed multiple aspects of cultural heritage protection and the prevention of antiquities trafficking, their visit with SOHO focused on best practices for preserving cultural heritage at the community level. SOHO shared how advocacy, public education, and partnerships can help safeguard cultural identity through protecting historic architecture and places.
During their tour of the Marston House, the delegation made an unexpected contribution of their own. With gracious expertise, they helped translate and document the inscriptions on a beautiful antique rug displayed in the museum’s library. The handwoven piece, signed by Haji Mohammad Baqe of Sari, Iran—a Tabriz-trained master weaver—bears verses that speak poignantly to the shared theme of memory and home:
Wherever the land is fair and flourishing,
The memory of that place lives on forever.
Wherever one may dwell,
The thought of home is a place of peaceful rest.
The meeting also offered a meaningful connection to the Marston family’s own legacy of scholarship and global engagement. Elizabeth Le Breton Marston Badè, a daughter of George and Anna Marston, studied and worked alongside her husband, archaeologist William Frederic Badè, in the Middle East. She continued his archaeological research after his death.
This visit reminded us that the work of preserving heritage, whether architectural, artistic, or archaeological, transcends borders. SOHO is deeply grateful to the San Diego Diplomacy Council and the U.S. State Department for including us in this international dialogue, and to our wonderful guests for sharing their perspectives, expertise, and friendship.
BACK to table of contents
|
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
|
