The atrium
Fifty metres high beneath a dome invisible outside, with a window onto Doha's towers.
Mohamod Fasil — CC BY 2.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0
The most important museum of Islamic art in the world outside Istanbul and Cairo, and without question the best thing in Doha. It was designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei at the age of ninety; he had retired and came back for this commission. He asked that the museum be built on its own artificial island so that later buildings could never crowd it and spoil its proportions — and the island was duly built, a decision that on its own says something about the place. Searching for an Islamic architectural reference, Pei travelled the Muslim world for a year and settled on the ablution fountain of the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo: a simple geometric mass stepping from square to octagon to circle. The whole building is a variation on that form. Inside is a central atrium fifty metres high beneath a dome invisible from outside, and an enormous window facing the Gulf and the towers of Doha — the most famous view in the city. The collection spans fourteen centuries and three continents: manuscripts and Qur'ans, carpets, ceramics, glass, metalwork and jewels, including pieces with no equal anywhere. The display is clearly ordered, labelled in Arabic and English, and lit with real care object by object. The park around it is free and the Corniche promenade runs in front; the best photograph of the building is from the opposite bank at sunset. Two hours minimum, three for anyone who reads.
Fifty metres high beneath a dome invisible outside, with a window onto Doha's towers.
The form comes from the fountain of Cairo's Ibn Tulun Mosque — square to octagon to circle.
Manuscripts, carpets, ceramics and metalwork from three continents, some without equal.
The Corniche, Doha
They are entirely different. The Museum of Islamic Art is a world-class collection that matters to anyone interested in Islamic art or history anywhere. The National Museum tells Qatar's own story through a modern display in a remarkable building. With one day, the Museum of Islamic Art comes first; together they make a comfortable full day.
Late afternoon: two hours inside, then out into the park and onto the Corniche at sunset as Doha's towers light up opposite. That order gives you the museum and the city's best-known view in one visit.
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