My recent trip to Doha, after a long time (34 years to be precise!) was full of revelations. Amazing architecture, extraordinary museums, and none more so than the absolutely stunning National Museum of Qatar.
The building is absolutely gorgeous. Truly stunning.
It is designed to represent a desert rose, a crystal formation which is found in Qatar. Years ago, we actually dug up desert roses in the Namibian desert, when we lived in Africa, so the museum building immediately resonated. Familar, beautiful, and perfectly in harmony with the desert.
You can wander freely around the exterior of the building, and the inner courtyard, just soaking in the architecture:
The museum’s collection tells the story of Qatar – the country’s history and culture – and is beautifully presented.
The collections – weapons, maps, jewellery (more anon) – are all beautifully displayed.
Like so:
There are explanations in Arabic and English, plus lots of interactive displays.
Here you have your blogger-at-large in action:
By way of explanation, this was a super cool display of images of Qatar, that you touched and could open/close/rearrange. I saw a photo of the Sheraton hotel under construction, and got excited. The Sheraton was literally the only building I remembered from our 1991 visit – and it is still standing, which is pretty impressive.
And now for the jewellery…quick drumroll…
Fell in love with the tiaras (as one does);
How stunning is this (above)?
Highlights were, unsurprisingly, the pearls for which the country is known.
I have never seen so many pearls together, nor had I fully appreciated how many different kinds of pearls there are:
Just look at the different shapes and colours in the photo above.
Just fabulous!
An interesting museum, very easy to navigate, Bery helpful staff on duty.
And ouf!
The architecture:
You need a ticket to visit the museum and for non-resident adults, the cost is QAR 50. But…on the day we visited, we were told one gallery wasn’t open, so they only charged us half price.
What’s not to love?
We paid our own way (kindly reduced!) and no-one knew that I blog and write reviews.