I hate to voice a negative opinion about a local landmark that is probably the source of pride to many folks here but I find the museum of Islamic art to be quite an eyesore. I.M. Pei is supposedly in a class of his own, but while the interior is superb, stellar, awe inspiring, stunning... the exterior is one of the most haphazard marriages of elegant ancient minimalism and post-modernistic "weirdness for nothing" I've ever witnessed. Like a collision of an old Gulf fort and a meat packing factory. As a person completely uneducated in the field of architecture, I cannot comment since much of the cutting edge stuff is lost on me, but I do know what I like. And the museum sadly sin't one of those, but being inside and the quality of the exhibits is always a pleasure to experience and behold :)

As for Fanar, I'd rather see the REAL DEAL in Samarra, this one just comes off as a cheap second, I've only seen the Samarra mosque in pictures but Fanar is like, not there by a long shot, none of that austere beauty. And yes, marred by some Arab socialist realism below, rather than any post modernity haha. It's actually pretty hideous :P For once I prefer the glass houses :)