Museum with No Frontiers

Passed on to me by my friend Noura, take time to explore this beautiful look at Islamic History and the art it created.

Discovery Islamic Art Online

I had a hard time picking which pictures to include in this post, as each era produced such unique and fascinating art.

Ceramic tile with a picture of the Ka'baHegira last quarter of the 10th century / AD 16th century - Ottoman Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey

Tile showing the Ka'ba, which would be placed on the outside of a mosque showing the direction of and reminding the faithful about the holiest site of Islam.

Aghlabid ReservoirsHegira 248 / AD 862Abbasid Kairouan, Tunisia

This reservoir is composed of two pairs of circular basins. About 15 similar reservoirs originally surrounded the area outside Kairouan. In addition to rainwater, water from the tributaries of the Merguelil Valley was directed into them. > More information

Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF) is an organisation whose ground-breaking and visionary programme aims to establish a vast trans-national museum that presents works of art, architecture and archaeology in the context in which they were created. Inspired by the principle of organising exhibitions without moving the works of art, MWNF is creating through modern technology an exciting new dimension to museums. The visitor is invited to experience a museum not only as a place to admire artefacts on display but also as a gateway to related works of art in other museums, relevant archaeological sites and monuments as well as to thematic visits.

By raising awareness of artistic and cultural heritage and promoting investment in restoration and conservation projects, MWNF aims to promote cultural integration as a means of facilitating political cooperation between different countries and cultures. The MWNF programme provides an opportunity to learn about and enjoy the shared cultural heritage of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in a completely new way. Its masterly orchestration brings together a large number of academics, professionals, photographers, tourist managers, politicians and many other people and organisations participating in this innovative project.

The ever expanding MWNF network includes partners from 19 countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. To date, public and private bodies from Algeria, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom have joined the MWNF programme.