Msheireb Museums

Msheireb Museums occupy four historic houses in the centre of Msheireb Downtown Doha, a redeveloped district next to Souq Waqif. The houses were restored as part of the Msheireb regeneration project by Msheireb Properties, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation, and opened in 2015.

Bin Jelmood House tells the history of slavery in the Indian Ocean region and the Gulf, and its abolition, with personal stories of enslaved people in Qatar. Company House, once the offices of the first oil company workers, covers the pioneers of Qatar's oil industry and their families.

Mohammed Bin Jassim House, built by a son of the founder of modern Qatar, explores the Msheireb area's past and its redevelopment. Radwani House is a traditional family home that shows daily life in Qatar before and after the arrival of oil.

Entry is free. The museums are closed on some days of the week, so check opening hours before visiting. Msheireb station, the interchange of all three Doha Metro lines, is a short walk away.

The museums stand on Mohammed Bin Jassim Street, beside the Amiri Diwan and the Qatar National Archive. They were the first phase of the regeneration of Doha's old commercial centre, a 310,000 square metre development by Msheireb Properties costing about QR20 billion (US$5.5 billion). The architect John McAslan led the restoration and new additions from 2011 to 2015, and in 2018 the Royal Institute of British Architects named the project among the world's best new buildings.

Bin Jelmood House goes further than most museums on the subject of slavery. It covers the Indian Ocean trade as a whole, including enslaved people brought from Zanzibar to dive for pearls for Qatari owners, and includes photographs and recorded interviews with Qataris of enslaved descent, such as the musician and actress Fatma Shaddad. Since 2021 the museum has worked with Qatar's National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking to keep its section on modern slavery up to date.

Radwani House, first built in the 1920s, belonged to the Akbar Radwani family and keeps the layout of a traditional home, with a courtyard and rooms used by men and women. The museums marked their tenth anniversary in October 2025 with two books, one on Qatari architectural heritage and one on the restoration of the four houses.