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From 700 million years ago to the World Cup: Inside Qatar’s best museums

newsofmax01/27/2023

11 6 minutes read

From 700 million years ago to the World Cup: Inside Qatar's best museums

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(CNN) — Qatar is not only busy building football stadiums but also has a series of striking and impressive structures. accessible museum in its well-documented quest to be recognized as the art capital of the Arabian Peninsula. Catalog tour guide

Most of the Gulf nation’s major museums have opened or been renovated in the past decade, with three additional arts institutions expected to expand Qatar’s cultural offerings by 2030: The Museum Lusail museum on display Qatar Museum‘ Orientalist collection; The Art Mill Museum focuses on contemporary art; and the Qatar Automobile Museum celebrates the nation’s obsession with luxury cars.

Public art also continues to thrive, with American sculptor Jeff Koons’ giant “Dugong” statue among 40 new public works to be installed across Doha by 2022.

Here are six of Qatar’s best museums to visit right now:

Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art houses a collection that spans 1,400 years.

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Renowned Chinese-American architect IM Pei is said to have retired to design the building that will announce Qatar’s artistic hub intentions to the world when it opens in 2008.

A sparkling white confection rises from Doha Bay like a geometric wedding cake atop its own man-made island, Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) remains one of the city’s most recognizable buildings.

Inside is what is believed to be the world’s largest collection of Islamic art spanning 1,400 years and three continents.

Reopening in 2022 after 18 months of renovations, the carbon-neutral museum’s reconstruction introduces a visitor route with expanded interpretive materials that provide previously missing context for the museum. Huge collection of manuscripts, ceramics, textiles, furniture, jewelry and other treasures.

The galleries dedicated to Islam in China and Southeast Asia are new. Mobile and kid-friendly resources make MIA more accessible to families, especially with free admission for children 16 and under. Free museum tours take place daily with topics ranging from calligraphy to carpets.

MIA also has a library with more than 21,000 books on Islamic art, while French culinary legend Alain Ducasse’s Mediterranean restaurant IDAM occupies the top floor (fifth). A pedestrian bridge connects the museum to MIA Park, which displays some impressive public art pieces of its own.

National Museum of Qatar

The National Museum of Qatar was designed by Jean Nouvel.

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Characterized by giant interlocking discs that mimic the complex crystalline clusters known to “bloom” in the Qatar desert, National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) is one of the country’s most iconic buildings. While it may seem like you’ll need a full day to explore the Jean Nouvel-designed museum that occupies a large area in Doha’s historic centre, the galleries make up only a small portion of the structure.

Opened in 2019, NMoQ’s 11 interconnected galleries tell the story of Qatar from its geological formation some 700 million years ago to the oil-rich nation of 2.6 million inhabitants today. now on. Films help liven up a variety of professionally curated exhibitions, with audio guides designed for both museum and home use.

The discovery of oil in 1939 kicked off Qatar’s industrial development, propelling exhibitions into the modern era, with possibly the most controversial envelope in sports history — revealed Qatar is the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup — among the artifacts on display.

But the NMoQ experience doesn’t end there, with the visitor trail continuing outside to the restored original palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, who reigned from 1913-1949 as the The third emir of Qatar. There’s not much to see inside the modest structure, but the traditional building offers a rare glimpse into a bygone era.

It would be remiss to miss the gift shop, where the undulating wooden surfaces mimic the museum’s organic shapes giving this surreal space a cave-like feel. The museum also has a restaurant Alain Ducasse, Jiwanwhere camel kebabs are known to be a favorite on contemporary Qatari menus.

Msheireb . Museum

Doha’s historic center was controversially razed to build the city’s ultra-modern Msheireb Downtown district in the early 2010s. Fortunately, four neighboring heritage homes were saved by bulldozers and now home Msheireb . Museumone of Doha’s coolest free attractions.

The largest of the four, Bin Jelmood House, also explores the most intriguing subject: slavery and the exploitation of human labor. While Qatar’s role in both is largely focused on the past, the subversive space still forces visitors from the Gulf and beyond to take into account the historic human rights abuses that continue into the 21st century. .

Next door is the Company House, an ode to Qatar’s oil industry, from which there is a side door leading to the smaller and more interesting Radwani House. Built in the 1920s, it has been furnished to provide a window into traditional Qatari family life during that period. Across the street, the Mohammed Bin Jassim House pays tribute to Doha’s architectural heritage, especially the redevelopment of Msheireb.

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art

A great excuse to explore Doha’s Future Education City area, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art It is home to the world’s largest collection of modern and contemporary Arabic art.

Surrounded by a sculpture garden, the museum building is somewhat unremarkable for a Qatari art institution. But Mathaf was never meant to be permanent, with French architect Jean-François Bodin being recruited to turn an old school house into a temporary residence for a collection led by Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani, cousin of the emir of Qatar, Sheikh gathered for more than three decades. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Opened in 2010, Mathaf’s 12 galleries occupy two floors, with galleries 1 to 7 displaying temporary exhibitions and 8 to 12 displaying a rotating selection of works from the collection. The museum’s permanent collection of 9,000 works.

Key themes explored in the exhibitions include the aesthetics and politics of change and progress, from the development of the Middle East oil and gas industry to the role of women in Arab society.

Soothing the mood are colorful geometric works by Moroccan artist Mohamed Melehi and Lebanese artist Gebran Tarazi (both found in Gallery 11), with cave entrances of the museum has a large screen that usually projects video works on it.

Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani . Museum

The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani museum is worth a half hour taxi ride from downtown Doha.

Photos Mustafa Abumunes/AFP/Getty

Where do billionaires keep all their toys? If you were the president of one of Qatar’s largest corporations, you would build a huge, fortress-inspired museum in the middle of the Qatari desert and graciously open it to the public.

Easily Qatar’s most quirky museum, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani . Museum (FBQ Museum) is Aladdin’s cave containing historical artifacts collected from four continents. They are sometimes cryptically displayed alongside amateur art and random curiosities — the lack of interpretive information leaves much to the imagination here.

However, there are many hidden gems to be discovered, including an impressive collection of the Quran and a traditional Damascene house with exquisite brick and latticework.

Visitors searching for Saddam Hussein’s room will find the controversial exhibit is no longer open to the public. But classic car fans won’t be disappointed, with around 300 cars from the muslim’s vast collection now on display in a huge new outfit.

While a substantial investment in curation would serve the main museum well, the chance to peek inside the coffers of one of the world’s 3,000 richest people makes a 30-minute Uber journey from downtown Doha becomes worthy.

3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum

It’s not hard to guess what other major international sporting event Qatar is aiming to host at the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. Opened ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the building has a spiral entrance surrounded by five rings that glow red, green, white, yellow and blue at night.

Attached to the Khalifa International Stadium, the museum’s seven galleries begin with a sporting history dating back to the eighth century BC, complemented by a fascinating array of artifacts.

Sports fans are guaranteed to find out in the Olympic gallery. Exhibits include a pair of boxing gloves worn (and signed by Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) during qualifiers for the US Olympic team ahead of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. , where the then 18-year-old heavyweight boxer won the gold medal.

Then there’s the Athletes’ Hall, which captures the legacy of the 90 athletes who have left an indelible mark on modern sport — from household names like Usain Bolt and Pelé to legends Lesser known are French windsurfer Antoine Albeau and Swiss Paralympic cyclist Heinz Frei.

Active clothing is recommended to get the most out of the final section, the Activation Zone, where visitors are invited to wear a 3-2-1 wristband and pass through 18 interactive stations designed to assess “the their physical knowledge”.

After completing challenges spread across six themed spaces, including “desert,” which propels a 4-wheeled vehicle out of dunes designed to test upper-body strength, the Participants can swipe their wristbands at the kiosk to collect personalized profiles that identify physical keys and mental attributes.

The topic continues to the casual dining restaurant on the top floor nauawhere Michelin-starred British chef Tom Aikens has developed a gourmet healthy menu.