With the fingers of the genius engineer, the French artist Jean Nouvel, and over an area of 1.5 million square feet, and with a unique design in the form of a desert rose, the Qatar National Museum, which was opened for the first time in 1975 , and reopened on March 27, 2019, had a grand ceremony and was witnessed by Sheik Tamim Al-Thani, in which he delivered a speech that conveyed the feelings of all the people of Qatar, citizens and residents, and expressed the aspirations of our honorable people, and the vision of his wise government towards the promise of 2022 , and towards Qatar’s comprehensive policy 2030 .(1)
The museum's location and date of establishment are as follows::
The museum was initially built around the old palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, then re-designed and rebuilt, to link the past with the present to the future, in a unique design that reflects the authenticity of our honorable people, and is inspired by the Qatari heritage through the arches and curves inspired by the shape of the desert rose, and ensures This ingenious design provides an even distribution of heat that keeps the building cool in summer, and prevents heat transfer to the outside in winter. The Qatar National Museum is located on Museum Garden Street, opposite Doha Corniche, where history and geography blend in an astonishing harmony, giving us a clear idea of the aspirations of our great people and our rational government. Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums’ Board of Trustees, formed a committee in 2013, called the “Content Committee” in order to develop initial concepts for the museum’s halls, galleries and buildings, and their contents in terms of education, desert life, the sea, pearl diving and boats. sailing, and other things related to the history of Qatar, and the honorable committee consisted of 12 members, headed by Her Excellency Sheikha Amna Bint Abdulaziz Al Thani, Director of the Qatar Museum. (2) (3) |
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Description Of The Museum:
Many historical artifacts from Qatar were on display inside the museum, highlighting the country's culture. They were all shown as sculptures in diverse styles.
Many historical artifacts from Qatar were on display inside the museum, highlighting the country's culture. They were all shown as sculptures in diverse styles.
Qatari traditional artifacts:
They represent various groups of gem pearls, and as it is known, the pearl trade was the most important source of economy and national income in Qatar until the beginning of the twentieth century, and it was exported to the whole world, and Qatari merchants gained wide fame in this field, and they classified pearls on the basis of color and shape and size and weight. This classification process required the use of a set of special tools that varied between sieves, ladles and seals that were kept in wooden boxes known as the bishtakhta. Later on at a huge price on the basis that it is a complete package. |
It represents daily life on the land, with its many tools, as it shows in the picture collectibles dating back to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, especially those related to dairy products. The two poles tied with a rope, and the fermented milk is intensively shaken in the watering can, then filtered and separated between the milk and the butter formed.
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Sadu industry is represented in Qatar in the old days, and it was woven with threads of sheep’s wool or camel’s hair. Traditional Weaving Forms Beautiful and practical at the same time, Sadu pieces combine natural colors and expressive patterns and are known for their many uses.
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Message from the Museum:
Each part of the museum expresses the daily life of every Qatari citizen, in addition to its clear message of linking history with the future, by introducing our current generations to the glorious past of our ancestors, and what they did and worked hard for until our country reached this level of progress and prosperity. According to the Qatar Museum website, the museum provides students and researchers with specialized and modern scientific laboratories, and a huge digital archive, with records of more than 240 Qatari personalities who lived through ancient times, and tell the heritage of Qatar, and this archive is one of the rare and priceless artifacts. The museum also aims to be a national gateway and a platform for cultural radiation, chronicling the lives of Qataris, as it focuses on the Qatari identity in the first place, and on popular culture and how it affected the formation of the heritage structure of Qatar in the past years, and documents the lives of many important Qatari personalities with some rare recordings. Especially those who lived through the era of pearl diving, its dangers and the suffering of people in that period of our history. In addition, the museum is Qatar's cultural voice, and the jewel of its heritage, from which we can smell the sweet scents of history that give us hope and enough motivation to continue the ancestors' journey... the march of pride and dignity. I would like to pay tribute to the solidarity, cohesion, determination and civilized behavior that you show, and to congratulate you on the spirit of nobility, love and familiarity that prevails in our area during this period.” -Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani on Qatar's people's unity.
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How I Felt After Visiting The Museum
Visiting the Qatar National Museum was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in my life, as I could see the entire history of Qatar embodied in front of me in the rare artifacts, and the valuable maps that almost speak and tell about the greatness of our ancestors and what they did in order to reach what we are now in progress and paper And the many sacrifices they made for the country, and for its sake.I felt a strong bond with the museum, which reintroduced Qatari history to us. But most importantly, I was able to witness our previous culture, which is being represented by the community now. It reminded me of my grandma, who still wears the "burqa," a traditional facial covering used largely by older women in Qatar. I also saw the glitzy old style, which is something I'd like to bring back. The museum's beauty, on the other hand, was what drew my attention the most. Every step I made was enthralled by the design that represented my culture. In Qatar, it seemed as if each location reflected a different time period. I recall the large table in the museum that displayed Qatar's progress over time. It made me immensely proud of how far we've progressed and the fresh opportunities that have been provided to me. This is what one of the museum's founders, Sheikha Amna Al-thani, meant when she declared the museum was supposed to connect the past, present, and future. The museum's design is modern and new, yet the inside is loaded with treasures from Qatar's history, and the people that visit it are in the present. This has helped me love my culture even more, and I eagerly await visitors who will learn about our history.