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In Pictures: Qatar’s ‘desert rose’ museum set to open

The museum is designed as a free-form space and is meant to offer visitors a fluid experience.

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Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The building by French architect Jean Nouvel is inspired by the shape of a desert rose, a flower-like formation that occurs in the Gulf region. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Published On 27 Mar 2019

Doha, Qatar- The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) opens its doors to the public on Thursday.

Located on Doha’s waterfront corniche, the museum will be the first notable building visitors see as they make their way from the airport to the city centre.

Its entrance includes 114 fountain sculptures in a 900-metre long lagoon and the museum’s multi-curved roof, which resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle, is made up of 76,000 panels in 3,600 different shapes and sizes.

The museum aims to tell the story of Qatar’s history, celebrating its Bedouin past and energy-rich present.

Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The museum is designed as a free-form space, in a way that does not include doors, and is meant to offer visitors a fluid experience as you move through time, space and themes. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
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Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
A view inside an exhibit of the National Museum of Qatar, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The enormous 52,000-sq metre National Museum of Qatar is located on Doha's waterfront corniche. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The building has been more than 10 years in the making. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al Thani, director of NMoQ, Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the head of the Qatar Museums Authority and French architect Jean Nouvel during a media tour of the new National Museum of Qatar. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
People look at exhibits during a media tour of the new National Museum of Qatar. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
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Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
One of the permanent exhibits on Qatari culture and heritage at the National Museum of Qatar. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The futuristic, sand-coloured structure is located near Doha airport's highway, making it among the first buildings to be spotted when driving into the city centre. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Qatar National Museum [Sorin Furcoi/ Al Jazeera]
The exhibits reveal aspects of daily life throughout Qatar's history. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]