I've just realised that the museum I visit the most in Paris is the Institut du monde arabe (IMA). This may seem like an unusual choice, but there are several reasons for it: Jean Nouvel's building, the view of the Seine from the rooftop, the mint tea and patisseries in the café. And of course the exhibitions, which are often about the dialogue between East and West. That's a dialogue I'm interested in. I've travelled around North Africa and the Middle East quite a lot - one of my most memorable journeys as a journalist was a trip to Tangier to interview the reclusive writer Paul Bowles (Un Thé au Sahara). In Victorian times English travellers in the East were known as Orientalists.
So the Orientalist in me delighted in the IMA's magical exploration of Scheherazade and the 1001 Nights (Alf layla wa layla). Some of you may feel that this collection of magical tales is not a serious subject for a center of Arabic culture. Others may say it reinforces a clichéd European view of the Orient. Personally I think it makes a change to talk about the Middle East in a cheerful tone. Besides: djinns, sultans, flying carpets, love, death, beauty - what's not to like about this enchanting journey? The exhibition is an obvious crowd-pleaser. But every museum must do its marketing. And if Les Mille et une Nuits gives more people a sésame to this important institution, so be it.
