Sundays on the bummel 6-21-15

Today we had an interesting agenda, we wanted to see the Grand Mosquee of Paris and have a visit to the Gobelins Tapestry factory.   The mosque is opened to the public most days except Friday and has a beautiful moorish garden enclosed in the compound.   The Gobelins Tapestry factory has been in Paris since the 1600's and was the source for so many museum quality tapestries created for royalty and nobility.  Today it houses the Mobilier National which is a workshop and storage facility dedicated to the preservation and repair of household and decorative items including tapestries, belonging to the French Republic.
With all the negative issues surrounding the situation in the Middle East, sometimes it's difficult to remember that 99% of the Muslims in the world are peace loving and accepting of other religions and lifestyles.  So a visit to the mosque here in Paris is very much like a visit to one of the churches, and just as beautiful.   The tile and stone work reminded us so much of the decoration in the Alhambra, located in Grenada, maybe not on as grand a scale as the Alhambra but certainly a peaceful and beautiful place for their worship.
After our visit we headed out towards the Gobelins Tapestry factory with a stop on the way for a late lunch.





The Gobelins was presenting an exhibit on the techniques and art of repairing and conservation of so many decorative objects.  We watched as artisans went about repairing so many different things. There was a gentleman making repairs to the wooden frames of antique chairs preparatory to having them reupholstered.  Then we watched two people as they made repairs to a 17th century tapestry and yet a third person repairing another tapestry.  There were hands-on examples of wood, upholstery material, yarns, padding, etc. so a person would get a better idea of what they were using.   There were other exhibits of techniques used for repairing ancient iron, bronze, chandeliers, and clocks, they have the capability to restore almost anything that has been made in the last 400 years to 'original' condition.


They also displayed the chair used by the head of the Louvre during the Nazi occupation and the person who was able to prevent so many artworks from being looted by hiding them.  He was featured in the books, "Rape of Europa" and " The Monuments Men"
 Very illuminating and interesting to see.