Ever since I read in the late eighties about the architecture of the new Institute for the Arab World in Paris, I have wanted to see it. When I finally had the opportunity to visit the institute last week, I was not only astounded by its interesting façade but also by the diversity of activities that it offers.

The Institute for the Arab World (l'Institut du Monde Arabe or IMA for short) was inaugurated in December 1987 and immediately drew much attention because of its extra-ordinary architecture.

The IMA was set up as a project between France and 22 Arabic countries: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Sultanate of Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. It has three set objectives:- to encourage the study and understanding of the Arab world, its language and civilisation in France.

- to enable cultural exchanges and promote the communication between France and the Arab world

- to take part in the development of contacts between France and the Arab World, contributing thus to the strengthening of the relationship between the Arab World and Europe.

The architecture that immediately attracted so much attention reflected the objectives mentioned above. It was designed by a group of architects (Jean Nouvel et Architecture Studio) and attempts to unite Western and Arabic culture.

In order to get a good view of the building I first walk out across the bridge that crosses the Seine river directly in front of it. From this point the building matches its surroundings and is one with the city. The view down the river towards the great Notre Dame cathedral is a famous one. You really know you are in Paris.

Located on the south bank of the Seine, the building has a northern façade that overlooks the historical heart of Paris, including the famous Notre Dame cathedral. It symbolizes the relationship with the old city. There are two parts to the building - the one nearest the river is a large exhibition center that is connected to the posterior part at the level of the top (13th) floor by a small, glass-enclosed bridge that leads to the roof terrace and the restaurant. This posterior part ends in a sharp point, like the bow of a ship and is completely transparent, made of glass.

The south façade of this glass building is decorated with 240 square windows of geometrical design, like Arabic 'mouchatabiehs'. The interesting feature of these windows is that each one of them consists of 72 diaphragms of different sizes, that open and close according to the strength of the light in order to control the sun's penetration into the interior of the building and to protect the collections exhibited within its glass structure. The movement of the diaphragms is regulated by light-cells and takes place completely automatically.

The inside of the building has an extra-ordinary stairwell-elevator shaft, made of steel and glass, where all supports, conduits and architectural structures are visible and combine to make a huge geometrical sculpture.

The lobby that leads to the large conference hall has a striking world map of back-lit coloured glass that is perfectly reflected in the black marble floor.

The roof terrace on the thirteenth floor is adjacent to a restaurant and offers a splendid view across the Seine River and some famous Parisian landmarks.

It takes a little bit of courage to cross the small bridge that leads across the 40 meter gap between the two buildings. But the sunny terrace and the fascinating view are too tempting. A group of German tourists sit scattered on the terrace floor listening to a lecture on the activities of the Institute delivered by a young Arabic woman. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed at mid-morning - I would have enjoyed the view even more with a nice cup of coffee.

The south façade overlooks a courtyard with a large sculpture made of white marble by an Arabic sculptress and donated by Jordan. Across from the main IMA building a low-slung structure houses the Medina, a shop of Arabian artifacts and the Café Abu-Nuwas, a tea room.

I have my desired coffee in the Abu Nuwas café. The shop that surrounds the café sells all the wares one can find in the Sharjah and Dubai suqs - except the gold. I sip my coffee while I read the many brochures that I picked up inside, before I go back in to have a look at the museum and the bookshop.

The Institute is far more than just a wonderful building!

The library contained in the main tower holds over 65,000 books, of which some 600 rare old manuscripts and also newly published volumes on Arabic history, culture, sociology and literature. These are mainly in Arabic and French, but there are also books in English, Italian, German and Spanish. The library also offers language courses and has a collection of 200 microfilms. There is also a section where one can view photographs (some 35,000!) and documentary films (200) and listen to up to 600 hours of music - all reflecting Arabic culture.

Three floors of the tower are taken up by the permanent exhibitions of the museum. The collection is divers and spans many centuries. It tells the history of the development of the Arab world. One can find amphora pottery from Carthage from the pre-Christian era as well as classical marble sculptures of the Roman emperors. Especially interesting is a collection of astronomical navigational instruments as well as early medical tools. During the 2nd to 4th century, Tunisia was a bastion of Christianity and from this period are the mosaics that once decorated the churches of northern Africa. In the 9th century Tunisia became predominantly Islamic and many objects from this period until the 19th century are represented. Old carpets are displayed along the walls of the narrow pointed tip of the building, while 19th century jewelry is exhibited in simple glass cases.

Syria and Tunisia also contributed some 180 pottery and antique objects while many of the objects are on loan from the Louvre museum as well as from other French museums.

There is a separate space for rotating exhibitions in the front building, and the one planned for the second half of 2004 is worth another trip to Paris! This major exhibition has as its subject the Pharaohs of Egypt, divine kings and victorious warriors. It will encompass 275 objects on loan from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the Louvre in Paris, the British museum, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia (USA) as well as from the Natural History Museum in Lyon and private collections. One spectacular exhibit will be a 3 meter high statue (Colossus) of Tutankhamon!

Together with the many cultural manifestations that are planned it will provide Paris with a true "Egyptian season" that will run from mid-October 2004 till mid-April 2005.

The calendar of activities provided by the IMA is impressive:

* The Arab cinema was recently represented by films from all the north-African and middle Eastern countries, and highlighted the work of Nabiha Lotfy, famous filmmaker of many documentaries. From June 26th till July 7th the 7th Film biennale will run at the institute with a special homage to the Egyptian actress Madiha Yousry and a retrospective of Iraqi cinema.

* Every month there are series of lectures by professors from various universities on a diversity of subjects. During June George Saliba, graduate of the American University in Beirut and professor at Columbia University in New York presented lectures on astronomy ("Arab-Islamic science and the European renaissance", "The science between religion and philosophy - astronomy", etc)

Also Boutros-Boutros Ghali, former UN general secretary and present secretary general of the International Organization for the French language, lectured on "The Middle East - from homogeneity to hegemony".
The American University of Paris organized a conference taking place at the IMA in the beginning of June, on "New Technology in the Arab world", dealing mainly with IT and Media technology..

* The 5th Festival of music in mid-June presented music from North Africa, India, Spain and Yemen, including jazz. Earlier a series of concerts by women from Tachkent and Uzbekistan highlighted the art of famous singers such as Mastaneh Ergashova and Matlubeh Dadabayeva.

* Workshops are held in calligraphy, ceramics and IT-skills.

* Special story-telling sessions for children are held every first Wednesday of the month. An especially interesting workshop is being held on Saturday mornings for children between 6 and 12 years: the famous voyages of Ibn Battuta, Al-Idrissi and Ibn Jubayr are shown to the children using the large Qassimi collection of old maps, after which the children go back to the atelier to draw and paint their own "silk route" or other famous voyages on parchment paper.

* The IMA issues quite a few publications, such as the quarterly magazine Al Moukhtarat for students that aims to promote better understanding of the Arabic language and culture with a variety of subjects. CD-roms and audio-cassettes with language courses are also available.

* The institute provides traveling exhibitions on a wide variety of subjects which can be ordered for museums and institutes elsewhere.

* The website http://www.imarabe.org provides any desired information on the 22 participating countries at the touch of a key. More than 3000 links take one all over the Arab world.

* There is a Society of Friends of the IMA. The 28 Euro membership provides one with regular information on upcoming events as well as discounts or free access for the various exhibitions and workshops.

Information on the IMA and its activities can be obtained from:
Institut du Monde Arabe
1 Rue des Fossés St. Bernhard
Place Mohammed V
75236 Paris Cedex 05
Tel : 00-31-1-40-51-38-93 or 00-31-1-40-51-38-48
http://www.imarabe.org