The Blend of Islamic Tradition and Modernity in the Museum of Islamic Art

Good evening to all art lovers!

In this time I want to talk about a real architectural work, a snow-white Islamic art museum, located in the capital city of Qatar.

The opening for the official visitor took place in 2008, since then it is the main attraction of Doha.

Museum of Islamic Art. Photo source: Flickr, author Paul Trafford

Exterior
Project development involves world-renowned architect, Io Ming Pei, who is the author of the famous pyramid of Louvre. The facade of the building looks like a pile of several stone cubes that created the five-story tower. In fact, the stone blocks are made of limestone, and adorn the construction of arched windows, typical of Arabian architecture.

The museum is located on an artificial island of all buildings, which is why visitors love to drown in different worlds, and all visitors can enjoy the beautiful view from the building even when boarding a plane. The museum is run by two car bridges and one pedestrian bridge, since it is brought to 60 meters in the sea.

Entrance to the Museum of Islamic Art. Photo source: Flickr, author of Clint Tseng

Interior Design
The most impressive thing in the museum of Islamic art is its interior. Sunlight penetrates the building through a glass wall with beautiful sea views. Look how beautiful that recreation area is!

Photo source: Flickr, author Christine und Hagen Graf

Fountains in the recreation area. Photo source: Flickr, author of Jude Freeman

Despite the fact that only very expensive materials are used in the interior, there is no excessive luxury attached to the Arab style. On the contrary, everything looks a bit short, combining Islamic architectural traditions and modern high-tech styles. Arabic geometric ornaments give the atmosphere a special charm and originality.

Photo source: Flickr, author Nadia Ismail

The ceiling of the building looks rather unusual, and the active use of light makes its geometric shape even more expressive.

An interesting feature of the interior is the fact that museum visitors, walking through the exhibition hall, can see all the atrium floor. They also have galleries, training centers, libraries, conference rooms, souvenir shops, two prayer halls (for men and women).

The ceiling in the museum. Photo source: Flickr, author Jimmy Baikovicius

Collection of Museums
The museum collections include over 10 thousand 8th-century Islamic artworks, the largest collection in the world. Here visitors can see the ancient manuscripts of the Qur'an, a collection of members of the royal family of Al Thani, precious stones, carpets, wood products, ceramics and glass.

Eagle gems. Photo source: Flickr, author of Pedro Paulo Palazzo

A pair of bracelets. Photo source: Flickr, author of Adam Jones

Detailed panels with figured scenes. Photo source: Flickr, author of Adam Jones

Pages from the Qur'an. Photo source: Flickr, author Jimmy Baikovicius

The museum permanent exhibit is free, but if you want to visit temporary exhibitions, you have to pay.

Although the museum receives guests every day without a day off, as it is located in an Islamic country, its entrance is done at different times for men and women. Representatives of fair sex can visit the main attraction of the capital of Qatar just two days a week.