Friday: June 4
Paris Mosque &
Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute)
We like different things so when I heard the Paris Mosque was the 2nd largest in Europe, we had to go see it. It doesn't really look like a mosque from the outside but inside it is as ornate as any you have seen. We enjoyed our visit there, and ate at their restaurant which was quite different and absolutely delicious. What a nice treat.
The Institue de Monde Arabe is nearby and quite unique. The panels on the side open and close electronically controlling light into the building. Very unique. It is an interesting building and a nice museum (but you can't take pictures inside. A place worth visiting once.... Enjoy!
Paris Mosque
The Grande Mosquée de Paris ("Great Mosque of Paris"), located in the 5th arrondissement, is the largest mosque in France and the second largest in Europe. It was founded after World War I as a sign of France's gratefulness to the Muslim tirailleurs from the colonies who had fought against Germany. The Mosque was built following the mudéjar style, and its minaret is 33 meteres high. President Gaston Doumergue inaugurated it on July 15, 1926. Ahmad al-Alawi (1869–1934), an Algerian Sufi, founder of the modern Sufi order Darqawiyya Alawiyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya, led the first communal prayer to inaugurate the newly built mosque in the presence of the French president
Click here to see other pictures.
Click here to see other pictures.
Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute)
The Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) or Arab World Institute
(AWI), in English, was established in 1980 in Paris, when 18 Arab countries
concluded an agreement with France to establish the Institute to disseminate
information about the Arab world and set in motion detailed research to cover
Arabic and the Arab world's cultural and spiritual values. The Institute also
aims at promoting cooperation and cultural exchanges between France and the Arab
world, particularly in the areas of science and technology, thus contributing to
development of relations between the Arab world and Europe. Libya joined the
agreement in 1984.
The AWI was, constructed from 1981 to 1987 with a floor space
of 181,850 square feet (16,894 m2). Jean Nouvel won the 1981 design competition
with a project that proposed risk-taking solutions that, over the course of the
years, have proven themselves.
The building acts as a buffer zone between the Jussieu Campus,
in large rationalist blocks, and the Seine. The river facade follows the curve
of the waterway and helps reduce the hardness of a rectangular block, adapting
itself to the view from the Sully Bridge. At the same time the building also
appears to fold itself back in the direction of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés
district.
Syrian three-color ceramic, 13th century.In contrast, the
opposite facade is uncompromisingly rectangular. Facing it is a large square
public space that opens out toward the Île de la Cité and Notre Dame. Above the
glass-clad storefront, a metallic screen unfolds with moving geometric motifs.
The motifs are actually 240 motor-controlled apertures, which open and close
every hour. They act as brise soleil to control the light entering the building.
The mechanism creates interior spaces with filtered light — an effect often used
in Islamic architecture with its climate-oriented strategies. This building
catapulted Nouvel to fame and is one of the cultural reference points of Paris.
It is also noted for receiving the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
.Click on the picture to see a larger image.