Alluring Arabia Featuring the Louvre Abu Dhabi & the National Museum of Qatar Dear Traveler, Please join Museum Travel Alliance from September 29-October 12, 2020 on Alluring Arabia Featuring the Louvre Abu Dhabi & the National Museum of Qatar. Delight in a director-led visit of the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, with lunch in its Alain Ducasse restaurant. Marvel at the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of Qatar in Doha, both designed by Jean Nouvel, on exclusive curator-led tours. Tour Muscat's spectacular Royal Opera House, which blends contemporary Omani and 16th- century Italian styles, and meet the director over refreshments. We are delighted that this trip will be accompanied by Courtney Ann Stewart as our lecturer from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This trip is sponsored by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We expect this program to fill quickly. Please call the Museum Travel Alliance at (855) 533-0033 or (212) 302-3251 or email [email protected] to reserve a place on this trip. We hope you will join us. Sincerely, Jim Friedlander President MUSEUM TRAVEL ALLIANCE 1040 Avenue of the Americas, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10018 | 212-302-3251 or 855-533-0033 | Fax 212-344-7493 [email protected] | www.museumtravelalliance.com BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Travel with September 29–October 12, 2020 The Met BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Alluring Arabia Featuring the Louvre Abu Dhabi & the National Museum of Qatar with Courtney Ann Stewart Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Alluring Arabia Featuring the Louvre Abu Dhabi & the National Museum of Qatar Dear Members and Friends of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, As a historian of Islamic art, I was honored to lead The Met’s tour of the Arabian Peninsula’s booming urban centers in February 2019. On that journey, we explored the region’s museums and alternative art spaces that have opened to great acclaim in recent years. We’ve refined this itinerary for two wonderful Arabian journeys in 2020, the first of which takes place in March. If you prefer to travel in autumn, join me this September to experience the fascinating art, architecture, and history in the burgeoning cultural hubs of Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. The centerpiece of our trip will be the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the landmark collaboration between France and the UAE that embodies this region’s well-funded global aspirations. The Jean BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Nouvel-designed building is itself a work of art, with a 7,000-ton latticed dome roof that floods the interiors with natural light. But its contents are even more remarkable, offering Monet and Traveling with You Van Gogh masterpieces as well as Asian, African, and Middle Eastern collections. Courtney Ann Stewart The contrast between Arabia’s forward-looking economy and ages-old traditions is Courtney Ann Stewart joined The Met in 2010 particularly stark in Dubai, where we’ll ascend the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, on and serves as Senior Research Assistant an architecture tour. The following night, on the city’s desert outskirts, we’ll witness Bedouin in the Department of Islamic Art. She has falconry, a spectacular hunting practice these nomadic tribes have perfected over hundreds contributed to the reinstallation of the new of years. Across our trip, we’ll roam impressive mosques and vibrant souqs (street markets), galleries of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, as well as visit trailblazing museums designed by Nouvel and I.M. Pei. We’ll savor a customary Central Asia, and Later South Asia (2011), Emirati meal with locals in the UAE and behold monumental public sculptures from Damien as well as the exhibitions and publications Hirst and Richard Serra in Qatar. Treasures from India: Jewels from the Al- Thani Collection (2014) and Sultans of Deccan Please join me on a dazzling adventure into the past, present, and future of this cosmopolitan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy corner of the Middle East. (2015). Courtney has taught courses on Islamic art history at the University of Toronto, Sincerely, and she continues to lecture in the School of Courtney Ann Stewart Continuing Studies at New York University. Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art Courtney, who holds graduate degrees The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the University of Toronto and the Bard Graduate Center, is currently pursuing research on the history of Islamic jewelry. BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Trip Highlights — Marvel at the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the recently opened National Museum of Qatar in Doha, both designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, on exclusive curator-led tours — Delight in a director-led tour of the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, with lunch in its Alain Ducasse restaurant IDAM, exquisitely decorated by Philippe Starck with Baccarat crystal and rugs printed with Arabic calligraphy — Enjoy a private tour of Muscat’s spectacular Royal Opera House, which blends contemporary Omani and 16th-century Italian styles, and meet with its director over refreshments — Explore Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman, and its Old World-style forts, extravagant mosques, golden minarets, and colorful souqs filled with spices and local goods — Rise to the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at more than 2,700 feet in height, with an architecture guide — Immerse yourself in the local culture by sharing a meal with Emiratis in Dubai, and learn about falconry and ancient nomadic culture at a Bedouin camp outside of the city Falconry demonstration, Dubai, photo by Jay Hunt BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Persian Gulf Doha Sharjah Dubai Arabian Abu Sea SAUDI QATAR Dhabi ARABIA Muscat UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OMAN Photos clockwise from top right: Regional map; Burj Al Arab, Dubai; National Museum of Qatar, Doha; Souq, Muscat; Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, photo by Michaela Loheit; Louvre Abu Dhabi. Front cover: National Museum of Qatar, photo by fisherbray. Back cover: National Museum of Qatar (top); Museum of Islamic Art, Dubai (bottom). BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Alluring Arabia Featuring the Louvre Abu Dhabi & the National Museum of Qatar September 29–October 12, 2020 Muscat / Dubai, Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Wednesday, October 7 Saturday, October 3 Explore the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Fly to Dubai and upon arrival, enjoy lunch Mosque, the largest mosque outside of followed by check-in at the Mandarin Oriental Mecca, which was completed in 2007. After Dubai. Later, delight in an architecture tour lunch at the impressive Emirates Palace, tour of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. the NYU Abu Dhabi campus led by student From a height of more than 2,700 feet, marvel ambassadors. Take in a behind-the-scenes at the spectacular city and the fountain below. visit of the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, a Traditional weaving in Abu Dhabi, photo by Jay Hunt Revel in an evening and dinner at leisure. B, L multimedia exhibition space housing both traditional and experimental installations. Departure Dubai / Sharjah Enjoy dinner at a beach club before returning Tuesday, September 29 Sunday, October 4 to the hotel. B, L, D Depart by air for Muscat, Oman overnight. In the nearby Emirate of Sharjah, visit the Sharjah Art Museum to admire works by the Abu Dhabi / Doha, Qatar Muscat, Oman Middle East’s most celebrated modern and Thursday,October 8 Wednesday, September 30 contemporary artists. Next, journey back Transfer to the airport for a flight to Doha via Arrive in Oman’s capital city of Muscat, in time at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Muscat. Upon arrival, transfer to the Mandarin situated between the dramatic Al Hajar Civilization, which houses thousands of rare Oriental Doha for check-in, or opt to visit Mountains and the Arabian Sea. Transfer ancient Islamic artifacts. Enjoy lunch at the the nearby Bin Jelmood House. Part of the to the luxurious Kempinski Hotel for lunch fascinating Mleiha Archaeological Center Msheireb museum complex, this remarkable followed by check-in. Spend a relaxing before viewing an exhibition focused on new museum shines a rare light on the afternoon at the hotel. L the history of the region dating back to the centuries-old Indian Ocean slave trade. Dine Paleolithic