Placing a captivating twist on the oblong blocks of sandstone typically considered primitive, the Museum of Islamic Art is a tiered palace of shadows and light that stands sentinel at the edge of Doha’s peninsula. The entire feature is a bold sketch of orthogonal lines and diagonals imagined into being by IM Pei, the man behind the Louvre Pyramid and the Suzhou Museum. If the Museum’s exterior made you do a double-take, prepare to be swept off your feet by its interior. The geometric theme inspired by the main tenets of Islamic art is extended to the insides where empty space masterfully utilized as an architectural element itself to emphasize the suspended sky bridges and illuminated catwalks ringing the three floors. Refracted light beams glint of thousand facets of mirrored glass that make up a central dome and skylight in the ceiling, a signature of traditional Islamic architecture. The museum compromises little on its views, basalt arches framing the steel blue of the Gulf’s waters and a stunning wall of glass stretching across the entire height of the building at the very end of the museum.

The museum is the owner of the largest collection of Islamic Art in the world, reflecting how art has been weaved into everyday tools. Ranging from across three continents and 12 000 years, the works are classified by their medium be it vibrant textiles, delicately glazed ceramics or glasswork infused with brittle colors. Over 800 manuscripts detailing scientific discoveries and religious edicts are secured behind transparent cases. Gold lettering on blue parchment defines the rare specimen from the famed Abbasid Blue Qur’an which sits right next to Qajar Era mirror cases and Mamluk vases. The museum isn’t just a feast for the mind and eyes with monthly chamber concerts to delight the ears by highlighting important interpretations of Arabic music as painted in the colors of Western Instruments. You even get hands-on experience at the museum’s walk-in workshops. Here, you get down and dirty with ink pots and brushes, tentatively teasing out flowing scripts in an imitation of the grand pieces that have been placed on display. You can never have truly grasped the vast depth of Islamic aesthetic till you’ve stepped into Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art.