Louvre Abu Dhabi opens its doors to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed

Genes in Space Winner Alia Al Mansoori was also a surprise guest on the VIP tour of the new museum ahead of its opening on November 11

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Mohamed Al Murr, former Speaker of the UAE FNC, view the Bonifilius basin, during a tour of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Alia Al Mansoori, winner of the Genes in Space competition, look at the Archaic Sphinx while touring the newly constructed Louvre Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Abdullah views the Epigraphic frieze, during a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Alia Al Mansoori and Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, view the funeral set of Princess Henuttawy, during a tour of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Raeesi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, left, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed under the roof. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed speaks with construction workers. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, right, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, centre and Alia Al Mansoori, centre right, are given a tour of the artwork with Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Mohammed Al Murr, former Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Seen with HE Dr Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), and Secretary-General of the Executive Council (back L) and HE Najla Al Awar, UAE Minister of Community Development (back R). Omar Al Askar / Crown Prince Court.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, tour the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Hamad Al Kaabi / Crown Prince Court.

Louvre Abu Dhabi has opened its doors to the first visitors - Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Their tour comes less than two months before the official opening on November 11 and gave the Rulers a glimpse of some of the hundreds of treasures on display, and the chance to experience the building's "rain of light" created by its vast dome made of metal stars.

They were shown some of the first works to be installed, including an ancient statue of the Sphinx dating back to the 6th century BC, 13 fragments of a frieze detailing Surah Al Hashr from the Quran, and the bust of Alexander the Great on loan from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Read more: Louvre Abu Dhabi will welcome some of the world's most famous artworks on loan

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was also introduced to some of the thousands of workers who have worked since 2013 to build what is described as the first universal museum in the Middle East.

Special report: Louvre Abu Dhabi - The museum of then, now and the future

During the tour, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed were welcomed by officials including Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and Saif Ghobash, Director General of TCA Abu Dhabi.

Also among the guests was Alia Al Mansoori, the 15-year-old winner of the Genes in Space competition, sponsored by The National, whose DNA experiment is being conducted on the International Space Station.

Louvre Abu Dhabi has so far acquired 620 works of art, including some important artworks on loan from 13 major French cultural institutions including the Louvre Museum, the Musée d’Orsay and the Centre Pompidou in Paris in France.

The museum has also installed many site-specific pieces by contemporary artists  in the outdoor areas. Three engraved stone walls named 'For Louvre Abu Dhabi', 2017, were created by American artist Jenny Holzer, citing important historical texts from Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah, the Mesopotamian bilingual (Akkadian / Sumerian) Creation Myth tablet, and the 1588 annotated edition of Michel de Montaigne's Les Essais.

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Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by acclaimed French architect Jean Nouvel, winner of the Pritzker Prize. The museum's galleries and buildings echo a traditional Arabic town or medina, covered by the massive 180 metre wide dome which filters light to create a micro-climate and whose design was inspired by both mashrabiya carved window screens and the shadows cast by fronds of date palms at Al Ain oasis.