Moroccos King attends opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, Nov 9: Morocco's King Mohammed VI, who is on a friendship and working visit to the United Arab Emirates, took part in the opening ceremony of the 'Louvre Abu Dhabi' Museum, along with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, French President Emmanuel Macron and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.

On the occasion, the Morrocon monarch offered gifts to the Abu Dhabi Louvre including historical artworks dating back to the 19th century -- a Holy Quran manuscript, a rifle, a sword and a pair of cedar wood stable door from Fez.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum underlined that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is an addition to the human heritage, and that the museum is a work of art that brings together the East and the West, an inter-civilizational bridge.

A symbol of tolerance and communion, this museum stands for "our capacity to fight evil forces of violence and hatred," he said, calling for a genuine inter-civilizational coalition to preserve human civilization.

Later, President Macron in a speech said that the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the fruit of an agreement inked in 2007, is an exceptional architectural work of art. He said this "Louvre of desert and light is a bridge between generations, cultures and East and West," media reported.

The new museum, which boasts a rich collection of over 600 artworks ranging from antiquity to present times, in addition to some 300 artefacts loaned from French museums, includes also a temporary exhibition area and other facilities.

The building is made up of a huge silver dome that weighs around 7,500 tons. It features a geometric structure of 7,850 stars and as the sun passes above, its lights filters through the perforations in the dome to create an inspiring effect within the museum known as the "rain of light", inspired by the palm trees of Abu Dhabi.