Sheikh Faisal Museum
Being an expatriate I and my family love to explore Qatar and Qatari culture. It gives an immense pleasure to know about Qatari people, culture and its history. So we decided to explore some museum. As there are couple of museums in Qatar so we decided to go first to Sheikh Faisal Museum. This museum is located in Al Samriya 22 kms west of Doha and just beyond Mall of Qatar. As I live in Al Wukair so it was a long drive of an hour to reach there. My son was excited to see the museum.
Sheikh Faisal Museum is having a large and incredible collection of unique things from Islamic culture and religious history too. Museum is very big and is separated into diversified collection of Art to incredible Antiques, beautiful and well maintained Cars. As I went with my son so he was bit excited to see hundreds of car under one roof. Around 600 cars are displayed in museum that too in running condition and is used in motor shows organized in Qatar yearly. My son wanted to have pictures with each and every car. There were Mercedes Benz, T Ford, Bentley etc. There were motor bikes too. Some old ships on display which gives us clues of history of sailing and exploring pearls from the Sea.
Museum is having diversified collection from Jurassic age to the early Islamic period and some things of present age. Museum gives us clear pictures of Qatari culture and takes back to the past. We get knowledge of Islamic art, Qatar heritage, vehicles, weapons, so many swords, utensils, clothes,coins & currencies collection by Sheikh Faisal Qasim bin Al Thani. He travelled across 4 continents around the world and brought all the precious stones, vehicles, clothes and a ceramic bowl from 18th Century.
Even we were very happy to see lot of things from India. Being an Indian i felt overwhelmed that in the museum a big collection of carpet, clothes and utensils are from India.
Sheikh Faisal Museum provides an opportunity to school going children, research scholars and eductional Institutions to study and know Qatar history. To know about Qatari people and culture too.
We saw Ottoman Pistols from Turkey and it was crafted with wood &steel and inlaid with gold and silver. There was Ottoman key bag and beautifully embroidered textiles which illustrates the love story on wool from Qajar Era Iran.
Shortly there it is going to open Carpet Museum too which will have around 700 beautiful and hand made carpets from around the world. Carpet Museum will include hand woven rugs, featuring patterns, threads and dyes too.
This Museum is perfect tourist attraction and is worth visiting. This museum is to make our kids responsible to save our ancestral land and its resources. Worth place to organize school field trips. My son and we too came to know so much about the history of Qatar and its people especially about Royal family here. Several activities are offered to the kids. Visitors love to visit and definitely want to come back. Outside Museum on the other side there are Oryx kept which kids will love to see as it is national Animal of Qatar. Museum is open all days so tourists can visit any day there. Museum opens on Friday 2pm till 7 pm. Opening hours on Saturday from 10am till 6 pm.Even Visitors can take Uber n go there.
I recommend this Museum to visit and tell our kids to safeguard our natural resource and archaeological work and places so that our future generations can also join us in our journey to save our place and planet. My son was so thrilled n happy to explore the museum and to conserve our artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural and historical significance. He wants to go again and again. I really want to thank the Museum authorities to maintain the museum and to give us opportunity to explore the museum. My main aim to visit the museum was to make my son understand the meaning of conservation of our valuable resources which i achieved by visiting Sheikh Faisal Museum.