The four-storey Central Asian Museum completion ceremony was held on 7th October at Tsas Soma garden in the Chutayrangtak area of the old town.

The Central Asian Museum is located right in the centre of Leh town. It is built in the Tsas Soma Gardens, the land where the caravans used to camp. The Ladakhi king Senge Namgyal gave permission to some traders to build Leh's first mosque on these grounds. The museum was designed and is being built by Tibet Heritage Fund (THF) /Leh Old Town Initiative (LOTI). 

Chairman, National Monument Authority Saleem Beg was the chief Guest of the occasion, Abdul Ghani Sheikh- President, Society for Preservation of Trans-Himalayan Art and Culture, Saif-ud-din- President, Anjuman Moin ul Islam, Dr. Mohd Deen, Executive member, Society for Preservation of Trans-Himalayan Art and Culture and many other eminent guest and scholars were present. 

Speaking on the occasion, Saleem Beg said that it is a unique and major success, in today’s world,  museum is not about exhibit it’s about the education and knowledge and it is very important to make use of the space as a place where knowledge is imparted and education is delivered. He suggested making space as a community centre, to carry interaction and many other things. 

Abdul Ghani Sheikh, President, Society for Preservation of Trans Himalayan Art and Culture congratulated the THF for the invaluable contribution towards the construction of the museum. He said the dedication of Pimpim de Azevedo-Co-director Tibet Heritage Fund and Yutaka Hirako- Programme director/Project Architect, THF/LOTI is an exemplary. He said that this museum will refresh the memories of Past Ladakh, a time where every Ladakhi has an access to the Central Asian regions. Leh was an important trade centre for the Central Asia. “What Port Said is to the Suez Canal, Leh is to the Central Asian Trade road,' this is what a British Joint Commissioner, R.L. Kennion, posted in Ladakh at the turn of the 19th century,” Sheikh says. He further added that the Central Asian Museum will play a key role to depict the age-old relation of Ladakh with its neighbor. 

The four storey gallery will display the artifacts of Baltistan, Kashmir, Tibet and Ladakh. For centuries, Ladakh has close trade and cultural relation with these neighboring regions. The idea was to inform about the Central Asian trade, of which Ladakh long has been an important crossroads, and which has had a long and lasting influence on the development of Ladakh's unique culture.

  

The museum was the idea of the Anjuman Society in Leh (the site owner), with whom THF had cooperated in 2007 to restore Leh's oldest mosque -the Masjid Sharif. The final concept and design for the site was made by Late André Alexander, based on traditional Ladakhi and Tibetan building types. The museum courtyard also includes a traditional styled Ladakhi Kitchen and a library. 

On this occasion, many other guest and scholar spoke on the history, the importance of culture and about the Museum. A token of thanks was presented to all the workers and volunteers.  The day called off with the visit of the Museum complex.