I found the Qatar Museum of Islamic Art in Doha to be pretty interesting. Despite the name, it’s not a religious institution, and you don’t have to be a Muslim to enjoy it.
This museum is full of great artifacts from three different continents over a period of 1,400 years. Some of the countries represented include Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Spain, and Turkey.
This travel guide will explain how to get there, and everything you need to know before you go!I spent a few days in Qatar last September and was able to go on a half-day city tour in Doha, with this museum included as one of the stops.
I spent about 30 minutes here because of time constraints, but easily could have stayed longer.
The building itself looks bizarre on the outside and inside, mimicking geometric patterns and also taking some influences from ancient Islamic architecture. It was designed by the award winning Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei.
The unique museum building exterior.
Old Islamic jewelry.
The museum has 5 floors full of artifacts and it’s mostly things like pots, jewels, swords, daggers, and even a full set of armor.
The top museum item for me was one of the daggers (pictured below) with an incredible design and detail, covered with gems and whatnot.
The presentation and facilities in the museum are great, although I wish the lighting was a bit brighter. Photos are allowed, but it can be kind of dark for this at times.
Incredibly intricate dagger.
Notice the Islamic scripts on the sides.
Fancy Islamic pot from the medieval period.
After you get done touring the museum, there’s a library, gift shop and restaurant on the first floor.
The cafe food was overpriced ($10 USD for a small cup of refrigerated fruit), but hey, in Qatar that’s pretty typical.
The museum is located in the city center of Doha.
I got there with a city tour, but you can also go there with Uber, Careem, etc. There is a parking lot with a taxi rank.
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