L'Institut du Monde Arabe

This building sits right on the Seine, and thanks to the roof-deck provides an amazing view of the center of Paris.  Inside there is a museum dedicated to artifacts from the Arab world.  Many ceramic items, rugs, and illustrated pages from the Koran are on display here.  There were also a lot of astrolabes, a tool once used by astronomers.  I was surprised by the presence of very old glass vessels, which have survived intact! 

One striking feature about this building is its windows, which close almost like an aperture in a camera and allow limited amounts of light to enter. (-Alicia)