In front of the Institu du Monde Arabe (IMA), opposite Notre-Dame, stands a huge Western Saharan tent made of goat and camel hair. This typical tent, raised for Moussem festivals, is the work of architect Tarik Oualalou and sets the tone for the exhibition Contemporary Morocco. The Moroccan season, which opened recently in Paris, will long be remembered for its diversity and for exhibits that challenge as much as they dazzle by raising highly topical questions about society, tolerance, equality, extremism, corruption and ecology. The Louvre exhibition, Medieval Morocco, triggers a more emotional response with its medieval religious items and manuscripts on loan from some of the country’s oldest mosques and madrasas. They remind us that Morocco was once the centre of an empire that stretched from Cordoba in Spain to Gao in present day Mali.

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This year’s spring show at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris is dedicated to the Muslim hajj, or major pilgrimage, that takes place every year in the Muslim month of Dhu al-Hijjah and is one of the “pillars,” or obligatory duties, of Islam. Spread across two floors of the Institut’s temporary exhibition spaces, the exhibition is an ideal opportunity for Paris residents and visitors to the French capital to learn more about the history of the hajj and its contemporary character. The exhibition, entitled Hajj, le pèlerinage à la Mecque, contains several hundred pieces illustrating the history of the hajj, among them objects used by pilgrims through the ages, historical accounts, and pieces taken from collections in Mecca itself.

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It is the largest exhibition ever held in France on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Hajj, Pilgrimage to the Mecca opens at the Institut du Monde Arabe (Institute of the Arab World) in Paris on April 23, tracing its historical evolution and artists’ impressions of the journey through 230 objects. The items have been curated from public and private collections, including the Louvre, diplomatic archives, university libraries and the British Museum. The exhibition is organised jointly with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Public Library.

Read More: French Exhibition Captures the Visual and Visceral Spirit of Hajj

Paris hosted an exhibition devoted to the life and creativity of great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts on November 12, 2013. The exhibition was held with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the assistance of the Azerbaijani Embassy in France. Birth anniversaries of genius Azerbaijani masters of the word Nizami Ganjavi and Mahsati Ganjavi were celebrated in France with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

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The roof of the Louvre’s new Islamic art department undulates like golden fabric gently lifted by the wind — a feat, considering it is made of steel and glass and weighs almost 150 tons. Filling a neoclassical courtyard, the addition that opened last fall tripled the space devoted to Islamic art and more than doubled the number of objects on view to almost 3,000, or about a sixth of the museum’s works from the Islamic world.

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In September 2012, the Louvre Museum in Paris opened a new wing dedicated to the arts of Islam. The new extension, in the neo-classical, 19th century Visconti courtyard of the Louvre, has an undulating glass and metal roof, under which is displayed the largest and most significant collection of Islamic art in Europe. In this article, Daniel Waugh of the University of Washington, Seattle, provides some first impressions, as well as reviews the catalogue published in conjunction with the opening of the new galleries.

Read: Arts of the Islamic World in the Louvre