Saturday, 21 September 2013

Sheikh Faisal Museum

While walking around the Sheikh Faisal Museum today, I was trying to come up with adjectives to describe the odd assortment of artifacts and objects housed in what is essentially several giant warehouses out in the middle of the desert. "Eclectic" doesn't even come close. The museum is the personal collection of Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the former ruler of Qatar who recently stepped down to let his son take over. Over the years he has acquired an extensive collection that focuses on Qatari culture and Islamic history, and he's still collecting so sometimes new artifacts will just appear in the museum. The museum is MASSIVE! Walk to the end of one great hall and another one begins. The walls are adorned with photographs, drawings and paintings that reflect a range of styles. Also included are a full-sized Bedouin tent, dozens of antique cars, replica of a traditional Qatari home and a vast collection of weapons from around the world. Getting to the museum is half the battle as the directions we read said something like "20 km past Education City and near the three dead olive trees" ??


Oh yes, there they are!


Once inside, the museum is actually a series of enormous halls full of stuff. There doesn't seem to be an order to the way things are displayed.


Personal photographs are grouped in the same room as ancient weapons



And stuffed falcons




A photograph of Sheikh Faisal next to some antique furniture. There was a lot of antique furniture at the museum!




One room was full of old Korans, some as old as 400 years!

 A 12th-century Egyptian bowl


And a plane, of course


A glass case full of model cars, still in their original boxes


The boat room




 A family gathering, Qatari style


??


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