Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 4

Time for us to head deep into the east wing at Qasr Al Watan Palace. Here we’ll explore the cultural side of the house, for the east wing contains the House of Knowledge: Age of Enlightenment (information link below), the 50,000-book Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi Public Library (information link below), and the Presidential Meeting Room. Just to give you a sense of direction, here again is the palace interior diagram:

Unfortunately, the lighting in the House of Knowledge: Age of Enlightenment (area 8 in the interior diagram above) was not the best and flash photography is, of course, not allowed. Had I been able to get presentable photos of this area I would be treating you to images of the Birmingham Quran, the Holy Bible, the Psalms of David, and various ancient documents covering everything from astronomy and math to literature.

Just beyond the House of Knowledge is the Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi Public Library (Item 7 above). The stacks here are impressively tall, and the library is home to 50,000 books. This is just one of the two stacks just inside the library entrance:

I said earlier that the east wing is the cultural side of the palace, but there is an exception. Across from the House of Knowledge, between the Great Hall and the library, is the Presidential Meeting Room and the adjoining seating area (Item 6). The Presidential Meeting Room is reserved for state visits and other government meetings.

Adjoining the Presidential Meeting Room is another room to allow attendees a place to briefly get away from it all, relax, or conduct side discussions:

Once you’ve explored the east wing, reenter the Great Hall and hang a right. Just beyond the Great Hall you’ll find a long, relatively “narrow” hallway. If you need a bathroom break, this is where you’ll find it. If you don’t, then get out your camera for this view:

And, of course, from here you can capture yet another image of that massive Great Hall dome:

Next week, beginning Monday, I’ll take you into the west wing. Until then, come back for this week’s Fun Photo Friday of Qasr Al Watan favorites.

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan House of Knowledge
● Birmingham Quran
● One Thousand and One Nights (a.k.a., Arabian Nights)
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi Public Library
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

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