Louvre Museum on the shores of the Arabian Gulf

Greetings friends.

What associations do we have in our heads when we hear the word "Louvre"? This word has always made me think of France, Paris, and the famous museum. Indeed, the Louvre is a museum that ranks among the top largest and oldest museums in Europe, once it was the residence of French corrals.
But at the end of last year, I learned that there is now another museum in the world called the Louvre and it is located in the UAE, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. And I not only found out about it, but also visited this museum.



How could it happen that another Louvre appeared? Everything is very simple. The UAE is developing rapidly, and the Government of this country has decided that it is necessary to build a museum that should stand on par with other world museums.
The museum opened in 2017 on Saadiyat Island.
The architect of the Louvre Abu Dhabi is French architect Jean Nouvel. The dome of the building is especially interesting. It should be associated with the traditional roofs of buildings in the desert, which were covered with palm leaves. According to the architect's idea, it should give the impression that the museum is floating on water. Indeed, the entrance to the museum is completely open from the seaside.
And what about the name of the museum?
Abu Dhabi paid $525 million for the museum to be associated with the name of the Louvre. And if my memory serves me right, it's only for 10 years.
Now there is a large construction site next to the museum. Several more museums are expected to appear on the island soon - a branch of the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and the Sheikh Zayed National Historical Museum. The whole island will turn into a museum system.



A museum in miniature.

View of the interior of the museum.



The roof of the building is completely full of holes! A person who comes from places where it rains and snows half the year immediately has a question - why is this done? But it's simple. This roof should protect from the hot sun rays, and rain would only be an added bonus. There is no rain in this area.

The museum features exhibits from the Louvre, the Pompidou Center, and Versailles.
In my opinion, there are not very many exhibits in the museum. I read in the related literature that the museum currently has about 300 exhibits from France and additionally, there are items from the Emirates themselves.
The museum's tour goes from antiquity to modernity. First, we pass through the halls of Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, after that, we get to the Middle Ages and reach the modern history of the UAE. I like to visit such museums during my travels.
The modern part of the museum consists of various state-level gifts. It is very interesting to see how people evaluate gifts from their countries.






I like to stand in museums and look at paintings. But for this, it is necessary to visit the museum alone, and not as part of a tour group, because to contemplate such paintings it takes time to take your time and enjoy the beauty.

I went through all the exhibition halls, got myself a coffee, and decided to sit for a while, relax, and observe what was happening around me. By the way, the UAE is an expensive country, but in the museum, of course, coffee is especially expensive. A small glass of espresso cost me about $6 and it wasn't very tasty.

It turned out that the museum has a food zone, and behind it, there is such a ground. I have the Arabian Gulf behind me. This is an open area on the bayside.

By the way, sea turtles swim in this pool, which is fenced off from the bay. The sign says that they are recovering from various injuries and damages here.
Well, I already had to go to the exit, where our entire tour group had gathered.


Friends, if you happen to visit Abu Dhabi or Dubai, then I recommend that you visit this museum, and visit Saadiyat Island, which will soon have more museums.

I took all the photos on iPhone XP.
Friends, are you ready to continue my Abu Dhabi tour of Dubai with me?

Thanks for reading...

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_@apnigrich