Museum of Islamic Art

Museum of Islamic Art is a repository of art objects from the 8th to 19th centuries and one of the attractions of Qatar’s capital. The museum is built on an island on the shores of the Doha Sea Gulf. The original building is set back from other buildings and is perfectly visible when an airplane comes in for a landing.

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Video: Museum of Islamic Art

Contents

Highlights

The Museum of Islamic Art was founded in November 2008, and the collection displayed there began to be assembled in the 1980s. The spacious halls on an area of 45 thousand m² exhibit art objects brought to Qatar from different parts of the world – Central Asia, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. These are ancient manuscripts, textiles, metalwork, jewelry and fine ceramics. One of the halls is occupied by a long Persian carpet, while another displays daggers, the scabbards of which are decorated with fine bone carvings. Many visitors linger near the collection of colorful Iranian tiles.

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The original interiors of the Museum of Islamic Art are as impressive as the rarities collected there. The interior rooms are decorated with traditional Arabic ornaments. Despite the fact that the interiors are finished with expensive materials, they are kept in a laconic and restrained style.

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In agreement with the world’s major museums, the Museum of Islamic Art organizes a large exhibition program. Year-round exhibitions bring thematic collections to Doha from the Louvre, the Metropolitan, the Cartier Foundation in Paris, the Egyptian Museum of Islamic Art and the Moroccan Royal Collection.

Museum building

The architectural design of the museum was prepared by the world-renowned architect, Io Min Pei, and erected by Turkish builders. The original building consists of light-colored cubes of limestone and has features of traditional Islamic architecture.

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All interiors of the Museum of Islamic Art were decorated with the participation of the Cassina factory. Its specialists produced display cabinets, museum signs, lamps, armchairs and chairs for visitors, book shelves for the library and closet cabinets for the checkroom.

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The giant central hall, the atrium, is illuminated by a glass wall facing the sea. In front of the huge window there is a rest area for museum visitors. Here you can sit in comfortable armchairs and admire the jets of the picturesque fountain. The floor of the atrium is decorated with a rosette of contrasting marble. A double spiral staircase goes from it to the second floor. At the top of the atrium hangs a chandelier decorated with Arabic script, which looks like a huge luminous ring.

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From floor to floor, visitors go up stairs or by elevators. The exhibition halls are arranged around an open atrium. The space is organized so that no matter what floor guests are on, they can always see the central hall and admire the play of light in it.

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Visitor Information

The Museum of Islamic Art is open on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm, on Thursdays and Saturdays from 12 noon to 8 pm, and on Friday from 2 pm to 8 pm. Tuesday is a day off at the museum. Note that the last visitors are allowed into the building 30 minutes before closing time.

If desired, tourists can use an audio guide in English. The museum has a café and a souvenir shop.

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How to get there

The Doha Museum of Islamic Art is located on an artificial island built on the southern end of the bay. It is accessed by two highway bridges and one pedestrian bridge. There is a bus No. 76 running through the city to the museum. There is a 24-hour parking lot near the building.

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