NATIONAL MUSEUM OF QATAR

In 2018, a rose has bloomed in the southern part of the Corniche. Its opening is orchestrated by the country's Culture Queen, the Emir's sister, Sheikha Al-Mayassa, director of the Museum Qatar Authority, who commissioned this new architectural masterpiece. The building is already completed, designed by Jean Nouvel. It occupies an area of 140,000^m2 and encloses the Fariq Al-Salatah Palace and its caravanserai dating from 1901 in a set of interlaced pavilions. In addition to the museum and its souvenir store, it has the Jiwan restaurant on the^4th floor, by Alain Ducasse, and the Desert Rose, a nice cafe-canteen. To avoid driving around in the sun, golf carts shuttle you between the various entrances.

A giant sand rose designed by Jean Nouvel. The first monument visible to travelers arriving from the airport, it resembles the sand roses found in the desert, in the form of 539 sand petals. On this project, Nouvel is working with an innovative product from Lafarge, concrete to be shaped. Ductal is as malleable as modeling clay, and can be shaped and bent into any object or decorative covering. It can be colored, poured into a mold until it melts perfectly to match the shape, texture and skin texture. Resistant up to 10 times more than conventional concrete, with an immense finesse, lightness and a surprisingly soft feel, Ductal is a material that leaves room for the imagination. There is no doubt that it has become one of the "darling" materials of designers.

Ambitious collections and spectacular scenography. For the Qatar Museum Authority, the institution embodies the traditions of the Qatari people and reflects their future. The building houses collections referring to the natural history of the peninsula, its fauna and flora, and evokes Bedouin history and culture (hand-painted objects, jewelry, hangings, historical documents) in a chronological manner. The common scenography of the rooms is that of the canvas drawn with films and animations projected to make the visit very immersive. The showcases are of course magnificent.

Chapter 1 deals with the geology of Qatar, with plant and animal fossils on display, as well as the natural environment and biodiversity of the country (with its star emblem: the oryx) and its archaeological remains (again with didactic films).

Chapter 2 traces the history of ancient Qatar, that of a nomadic Bedouin people living between the desert and the coast and on the ancestral trade routes. Again, the large immersive film canvases are stunning, immersing you in the atmosphere of a Bedouin camp in the desert, in the days of the pearl fishermen on the coast, while the display cases showcase period artifacts. Qatari women's outfits rich in embroidery and pearls line up not far from the museum's centerpiece: the Baroda pearl carpet. Commissioned by the Sultan of Baroda in 1865, it is entirely made of white pearls and precious stones, a real jewel!

Chapter 3 features the nation of Qatar, with its political history from 1500 to 1913, the wars against invading empires and how Sheikh Jassim unified the tribes of the country. Then you can see a portrait of each emir of Qatar until the one of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, at the time of oil and gas which made the fortune of the country.