National Museum of Qatar

The National Museum of Qatar is the country's national history museum, on Museum Park Street at the southern end of the Doha Corniche, housed in Jean Nouvel's "desert rose" building around the restored palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. It suits anyone who wants the story of Qatar, from geology to oil, in one visit.

The museum was almost a decade in the making, opened about three years later than planned and cost an estimated USD 434 million. The opening ceremony took place on 27 March 2019, and the doors opened to the public on 28 March.

The desert rose design

Nouvel based the building on the desert rose, a cluster of crystals that forms when minerals crystallise beneath a salt flat, and described it as an architecture created by time and the desert. Large interlocking discs set at different angles shade the walls and terraces below. A lagoon and museum park surround the building.

From desert geology to Bedouin and pearling life

About 8,000 square metres of permanent galleries and 2,000 square metres of temporary exhibition space follow Qatar's story in rough order. The route begins with the geology, plants and animals of the peninsula, moves through Bedouin life, coastal towns, pearling and trade, and ends with the discovery of oil and the modern state. Large films projected on the curved walls are a big part of the visit. The Pearl Carpet of Baroda is displayed at times.

At the heart of the site is the Old Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, son of the founder of modern Qatar, who used it as his home and seat of government in the early 20th century. It later served as the first national museum. Its low, plain walls framed by the giant discs are one of the most memorable sights of the visit.

539 discs and 114 fountains

The building is made of 539 interlocking discs, and the cavities between them shade visitors from the desert heat. It covers about 40,000 square metres, and the visitor route loops through eleven permanent galleries and one temporary exhibition space. In the lagoon outside stands ALFA, a public artwork by Jean-Michel Othoniel made of 114 fountain sculptures. More than 450,000 people visited in the first year after the 2019 opening.