Els Slots

The Netherlands - 13-May-25 -

I have a strong fascination for National Museums and every time I visit a “new” country, I try to take one in. What I am interested in is how countries present their history. It’s like a 5-minute pitch they have to give about “Tell me about your country”. This is very difficult to do well: where do you start, and where do you end? What stories do you tell and which ones do you omit? I recently visited the museums in Jordan and Iraq: the Jordan museum really struggles with a lack of authentic content and representativeness, while the one in Baghdad is an excellent Archaeological Museum but doesn’t cover the whole story.

Qatar’s National Museum, put on the Tentative List just this year, however, is an excellent example. I visited it in November 2023. It’s a popular tourist attraction in Doha and the entrance costs 50 rial, about 12.50 EUR. 

The nomination focuses on the building. It was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. Its shape was inspired by the desert rose, a crystal that “grows” in the sand of the desert. It only opened in 2019, so it would be by far the “youngest” WHS. I found it impressive and it is very spacious inside. Its design of interlocking discs also provides ample shade to shelter from the desert heat.

I was even more interested in the collection. Even with limited original objects found on Qatarese soil available, it does not disappoint. They go through the entire history, from early natural history to the 21st century and Qatar's role on the international political stage. Videos are projected on enormous screens, very nicely done. 

Especially that 21st-century addition is one I can’t remember having seen in any other National Museum. But it rightly points to the country’s heydays, which do not lie in the distant past but are now, in the first 25 years of this century, where the country gained tremendous wealth and influence as a global supplier of liquid natural gas. A quote projected on a wall in the museum sums it all up: "We've prospered".

Finally, there’s a special part in the museum complex that may give a future nomination extra credit: the palace. It belonged to Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, one of the country’s most prominent emirs who reigned from 1913-1949 and is considered to be “the father of modern Qatar”. The new museum building was developed around it, thus creating a bridge between the past and the present. The old building was heavily restored and resembles the mansions you see in Oman.