To most of the Arab world, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani’s name has carved a place for itself in the foundations of Qatar’s success and is synonymous with the growth of businesses in the Middle East. An extensive traveler with an eye for aesthetics and Islamic heritage, the museum was birthed through his passion and consequent extravagant collection collated over 50 years of globetrotting.

Wandering through the roughened stonewalls of the Grand Qatari Fort, an impressive structure of battlements and solid watchtowers, visitors would have a first-hand experience with Qatar’s timeline from the age of the dinosaurs to the modern day spectacle it has become. Displayed within transparent cases of glass, over 15, 000 objects and ephemera take up the rooms of the fort that are spread across the main compound and around the open courtyards. The origins of each item can be traced back to 1 of 4 continents and are classified under the primary themes of Islamic Art, Qatari Heritage, Vintage vehicles and Coins & Currency. Discover nature’s prehistoric roots through rare fossils such as a dinosaur’s head and primitive dolls shaped by the first men to have walked the earth. The cultivation of civil society is retold through coins marking our leave from barter trade and scriptures of flowing ink across crisp parchment that have miraculously withstood the trials of time. Carpets, an often unexpected and underappreciated feature of the house, trace the growth of textile forms and artistic sensibilities of a community.

The museum’s collection consists of over 700 articles retelling myths from the Qajar Era and beyond, illustrating romantic escapades and tragedies. The vintage vehicle collection has yet to meet its rival, proudly showing off ancient steam cars of the late 19th Century, to the smooth black luxury that is the 1938 Buick, retrofitted with regal air vents and rustic headlights. The museum even contains the largest private collection of militaria, a study of weapons through the ages from the functional to the ornamental such as pistols from the Ottoman inlaid with gold filigree and ornate inscriptions. There’s no telling what you might discover within the museum, with such a scrapbook gathering of items from across time and space. One would only know after a walk through.