Iwish to thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, for giving France the honor and the opportunity of being the first country to host the magnificent exposition “Routes d’Arabie”: Archaeology and History of Saudi Arabia.” France shares the same vision promoted by the Saudi monarch intending to promote the dialogue of culture throughout the world. In this regard, the exposition is the outcome of our common efforts since 2007, to promote the legacy of the Arabian Peninsula and to see that Arab civilization takes its place in the cultural history of humankind.

This exhibition is a journey through “Arabia Felix,” offering beautiful pictures of the region. It is set up as a succession of stages in various oases of the peninsula which were home, in antiquity, to powerful states and which became, in the 7th century, the birthplace of Islam.

Most of the 300 objects (Lihyan kings’ statues [6-4th century B.C.], precious plates and dishes, Neolithic steles…) are displayed for the very first time outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They enable us to get a comprehensive view of the different cultures that existed in Arabia from ancient until modern times.

This exhibition has been made possible thanks to the invaluable help of SCTA Chairman Prince Sultan bin Salman and to the recent excavations and research done by Saudi archaeologists in cooperation with foreign — among them French — archaeological missions, over the last 20 years. It stresses the wealth of the pre-Islamic period. At the crossroads of the ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Mediterranean world, the Arabian Peninsula became, thanks to its important trade routes crossing its land, an important place of exchanges, spreading new ideas and new ways of life.

The exhibition also puts forward the role of Arabia as the cradle of Islam: On the roads, merchants mingled with pilgrims. First, a few archaeological relics remind us of these roads of the pilgrimage and one of its major stops: Al-Rabadhah. Following this track as far as Makkah, other artworks illustrate the setting, such as the graves from the Abbassid period (around 10th Century). They are a unique testimony of Makkah society at that time. Some Mameluke and Ottoman artworks show the generosity of the princes who contributed financially to several installations, such as the monumental Kaaba door, on behalf of Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640).

Let me express my hope that this international exposition in the Louvre will bring the whispered memory of those ancient civilizations of Arabia to the hearts of those who will visit it as I have been personally moved for three years by the majestic beauty of your country and the unfailing hospitality of the Saudis who carry in their hearts and souls, the legacy of their ancestors.