On a purpose-built island abutting the Corniche, Doha’s waterfront promenade, the building itself is an architectural wonder designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei. The museum contains four floors of permanent and temporary exhibitions, gift shop, a café and a haute cuisine restaurant IDAM by renowned chef Alain Ducasse, on the fifth floor. It is also home to a heritage library, with a collection of 21,000 books including 2000 rare editions in both Arabic and English.
The Museum of Islamic Art is easily accessible via car or a taxi (Uber is widely used, alternatively Karwa or Careem). The distance from Hamad International Airport is approximately 15 minutes.
The nearest metro station is Qatar National Museum, Gold Line.
The museum hosts a variety of cultural activities throughout the year, including performances by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, film screenings, and art and calligraphy classes for the community. The lush MIA park next to the museum overlooks the Arabian Sea, and is a favorite spot for family picnics, walking, running, or outdoor yoga classes. A weekend bazaar in the cooler months features over a hundred stalls selling everything from food and drinks to handicrafts, clothing, and jewellery
MIA commands breathtaking views of the city’s skyline. Inside the museum, visitors should look for the Shahnameh Manuscript. Written a thousand years ago by Persian poet Ferdowsi, the Book of Kings recounts the histories and myths of the pre-Islamic Greater Persian Empire. See one of the world’s first navigational tools, the Planispheric Astrolabe, made in 10th century Iraq during Abbasid rule. Be dazzled by the Carved Emerald Plaque, a large emerald from the 16th century. Owned by India’s Mughal emperors, an Arabic prayer is inscribed on one side while a floral motif is carved on the other.
Conceived by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, best known for designing the glass pyramid in the forecourt of the Louvre in Paris, the museum sits on a purpose-built island abutting Doha’s central waterfront promenade and is surrounded by MIA Park’s extensive green spaces.
The building was inspired by the Sabil, or ablution fountain, in the 9th century Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt. Traditional Islamic patterns (domes, geometric patterns, arches, water features) meld with modern architecture to produce this hallmark museum in Qatar.