We just bid good bye to another weekend and most of us are either slouched in front of the computer trying not to yawn or worse, stuck in a meeting trying really hard to get rid of that vacant expression. That’s exactly why this is the right time to talk about exploring Qatar the coming weekend! Grab a coffee, flex your knuckles and read on!
We might be living in one of the smallest countries of the Gulf, but quite interestingly (and very fortunately, for us!) Qatar doesn’t lack in “things to do”. Every week or so, we see some festival or the other (Did you know the Coffee, Tea, Chocolate- CTC- Festival is on at the Hotel Park right now? Yup, a festival solely for chocolates. Who’d think of that?), some celebrity comes to Doha (Paris Hilton, Kareena Kapoor, Helloo?), countless events, restaurants, malls to explore and visit- all these tend to keep everybody busy.
However, Qatar is also home to some of the beautiful museums in the world and Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani Museum (Let’s call it Sheikh Faisal Museum, shall we?) is definitely a hidden gem.
The museum is really hidden. Unlike the Museum of Islamic Arts which you can’t help on stumbling upon (all credit to that head turning architecture and its million dollar location!), this museum is very low-key.
It’s located in Al-Samriya, Al-Rayyan- around 20km away from the Education City. It’s completely away from all the hustle and bustle of the rest of Doha. Just make sure your Google Maps is on since you’ll be very lost without it.
When we reached the Sheikh Faisal museum, what took me by surprise was its exterior. The entire museum was housed in a massive fort, the colour of the desert surrounding it. There was a beautiful wreck of a dhow boat nestled on one corner, another majestic boat floating gently on a man-made pond right in front of the museum. Au contraire to the high-tech, modern buildings that one tends to see in Qatar, this very traditional museum was like a warm pat from your oldest friend.
Another unique feature of the museum is its collection. In fact, everything one will find in it was owned and collected passionately by Sheikh Faisal himself. At first, he was using his Majlis to showcase his private collection. But very soon, the Majlis turned out to be too small for all what he owned (no surprise there!)
Starting from the oldest Penny-Farthing to Vintage motorbikes, cars, planes, boats, stuffed mannequins, stuffed animals, traditional clothes, furniture, carpets, coins, weapons, animal skeletons, etc to rooms designed like hospitals, bedrooms, the collection is absolutely astonishing!
The museum also has a gift shop where you could have your name written in calligraphy or buy the traditional attire for your kids along with the usual souvenirs. The gift shop further has a vending machine. Also, the Sheikh Faisal Museum even organizes workshops too.
While the weekend might look a long time away, it’s definitely going to come knocking at your door very soon, by God’s grace. Then, do pay a visit to this beautiful place tucked away in the corners of Qatar! Till then, tchao!
PS: For more details on the opening hours, contact details and so on, head over to the museum’s website right here.
Mistress of Winging It 
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