Just a few minutes from our hotels, the Arab World Institute (Institut du monde arabe) has a new exhibition of the treasures saved (often by chance) from Gaza, with information to help understand the complexity of the (objectively disastrous) current situation.

The exhibition includes pieces from the collections of the Museum of Art and History in Geneva, which in 2007 became a museum-refuge for over 500 works of art from Gaza that were not able to be returned (statuettes, vases, oil lamps, tombstones, figurines, mosaics…)

130 of these pieces have been selected for the exhibition Trésors sauvés de Gaza – 5.000 ans d’histoire (Treasures Saved from Gaza – 5,000 years of history) some of which have never been shown before in France, and all of which are testimony to the prestigious past of the Palestinian enclave, known in the past for its glory and comfortable living conditions.

This is the moment to learn more about Gaza, which has 70 cultural sites from a number of different eras, now in danger of destruction. One of the sites, the Greek Orthodox church of Saint Porphyrius, was destroyed on 19th October 2024.

A map of the bombings will help you understand the breadth of the damage, and the exhibition will examine questions of a cultural heritage in time of war, particularly in Gaza where two thirds of all buildings have now been destroyed.

A selection of books on the subject (in French) is also available in the bookshop on-site, and online.

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The Treasures Saved From Gaza – 5,000 Years of History exhibition is at the Arab World Institute (here) until 2nd November 2025

Open every day except Mondays from 10am-6pm (7pm weekends and public holidays)

Admission: 11€ / 9€ / 7€

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