Dazzlingly white and playfully angular, the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre complex … showcases the intellectual, artistic and scientific accomplishments of the Islamic world.
Pulling double duty, this $300-million project underscores Toronto’s multicultural reputation and the namesake benefactor’s pluralist agenda.
Among the more than one thousand pieces, highlights include 16th-century paintings from the Persian Book of Kings and the earliest surviving manuscript of Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine.
For masterpieces of a culinary nature, check out the on-site Diwan Restaurant, with its slick and subdued décor and ambitious menu paying homage to Turkey, Iran, North Africa, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
– Lonely Planet | Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre
1st of 7 places to visit in Toronto
Toronto can sometimes feel like it’s second or third fiddle to Canada’s other major cities. It isn’t as pretty as its West Coast cousin Vancouver, and it doesn’t have the same je ne sais quoi as Montréal. But with the Pan American Games set to start in 2015, more people are thinking of T-Dot as one of Canada’s best destinations. There are plenty of reasons to visit this eclectic, weird city, and here are seven attractions that capture why we love Toronto.
Dazzlingly white and playfully angular, the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre complex (77 Wynford Dr; http://www.agakhanmuseum.org) showcases the intellectual, artistic and scientific accomplishments of the Islamic world. Pulling double duty, this $300-million project underscores Toronto’s multicultural reputation and the namesake benefactor’s pluralist agenda. Among the more than one thousand pieces, highlights include 16th-century paintings from the Persian Book of Kings and the earliest surviving manuscript of Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine. For masterpieces of a culinary nature, check out the on-site Diwan Restaurant, with its slick and subdued décor and ambitious menu paying homage to Turkey, Iran, North Africa, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Via Seven reasons to visit Toronto now – Lonely Planet.
About the Aga Khan Museum
The aim of the Aga Khan Museum will be to offer unique insights and new perspectives into Islamic civilizations and the cultural threads that weave through history binding us all together. My hope is that the Museum will also be a centre of education and of learning, and that it will act as a catalyst for mutual understanding and tolerance.
– His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan
The Aga Khan Museum (French: Musée Aga Khan) is dedicated to promoting the artistic, intellectual and scientific contributions of the Muslim Civilisations. Located in Toronto, Canada, the museum is an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network.
It houses collections of Islamic art and heritage, including artefacts from the private collections of His Highness the Aga Khan, the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, and Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, which showcase the artistic, intellectual and scientific contributions of Muslim civilizations.
The Museum collection contains over one thousand artefacts and artworks and spans over one thousand years of history. The objects – in ceramic, metalwork, ivory, stone and wood, textile and carpet, glass and rock crystal objects, parchment and illustrated paintings on paper – present an overview of the artistic accomplishments of Muslim civilisations from the Iberian Peninsula to China.
Discover, Explore and Learn more at AKDN: Aga Khan Museum and Aga Khan Museum
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All stories from Ismailimail reporting from Toronto during the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre, Toronto inauguration:
Accelerate your Awareness – Explore, Discover and Learn more about the Aga Khan Projects in Toronto
Aga Khan Museum Series (Perspectives on matters of the Intellect, Knowledge and Wisdom)
Ismaili Centres Series (Perspectives on matters of the Soul and Spirit)
Aga Khan Toronto Park (Perspectives on matters of Felicity, Humanity and Nature)
Aga Khan Trust For Culture (Perspectives on matters of Creative Collaborations and Partnerships)
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