Museum of Islamic Arts

About Museum of Islamic Arts

Art museum in Doha, Qatar

The Museum of Islamic Art, at the southern end of the Doha Corniche, is Qatar's flagship museum and one of the world's leading collections of Islamic art. It was designed by I. M. Pei, who drew on the ablution fountain of the Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, and stands on an artificial island near the traditional dhow harbour, linked to land by two bridges. The building was finished in 2006 and the museum opened on 22 November 2008. It shows masterpieces spanning thirteen centuries, from Spain and Morocco to Central Asia, India and China: illuminated manuscripts and Qurans, ceramics and glass, metalwork inlaid with gold and silver, carpets and textiles, jewellery and arms, and scientific instruments such as astrolabes. The permanent galleries are on the second and third floors, with temporary exhibitions on the ground floor. Inside, a soaring atrium is hung with a circular metal chandelier, and a vast window looks across the bay to the West Bay towers. The museum is wrapped by a large park along the Corniche, among palms and fountains, one of the loveliest places in Doha for a sunset walk.

Where:

Doha, Qatar

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