Qatar Islamic Museum
MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART
Doha, Qatar P.O. Box 2777
Tel +974 4422 4444, Fax +974 4422 4446
Opening Times
Sunday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Monday 10:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 10:30am - 5:30 pm
Thursday 12pm - 8pm
Friday 2pm - 8pm
Saturday 12pm - 8pm
Last admission ½ hour before closing
Free admission
Dress Code
Visitors are asked to be dressed appropriately. Entrance may be refused to those unsuitably dressed.
Mathaf Shuttle Bus
Free bus between MIA and Mathaf, Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 5pm. Buses leave on the hour.
Free Wifi at the museum
The museum draws much influence from ancient Islamic architecture, yet has a unique design.
It was the first of its kind in Arab States of the Persian Gulf and has a very large collection of Islamic art, plus a study and a library.
Facilities also include IDAM, a high class restaurant offering a dining experience of French Mediterranean cuisine with an Arabic twist. Sabiha Al Khemir served as the founding director of the museum from 2006-2008.
The museum has a total area of 45,000 m2 and lies on the edge of Doha harbour at the south end of Doha Bay.
Construction by Baytur Constr.Co. (Turkey) reached completion in 2006, but the museum's interior was subjected to a variety of changes thereafter.
The museum celebrated its VIP opening on November 22, 2008, and opened to the general public on December 8, 2008.
Declining all proposed sites for the museum, Pei suggested a stand-alone island for the structure in order to avoid the encroachment on other buildings.
Thus it was built on the water, 64 acres (260,000 m2) approximately 195 feet (59 m) off the Doha Corniche and surrounded by a park.
Pei requested, further, that the museum spaces be designed by his collaborator on the Louvre project, Wilmotte & Associes, who then assembled a design team including Plowden & Smith (conservation consultants), Isometrix Lighting + Design (lighting consultants), SG Conseil (AV Consultants) under Turner Projacs.
nice musum