The Museum of Islamic Art

The view of Doha's sky line taken from the MIA.

The next exhibit we were able to see was at the Museum of Islamic Art (the MIA). I have written about the beauty of the MIA building itself in an earlier post, but I took a  few more pictures of a portion of the building we had not visited previously. The design is such a beautiful work itself, that I am sure the building will continue to present surprises each time we visit.

I love this use of  reflection in the fountain. The building is surrounded by water too so the architect I M Pei has really shown his mastery of using reflection throughout his design.  

The exhibit we went to see at the MIA was "Hajj - The Journey Through Art"

This is the only picture I was able to take inside this exhibit. In this ornate, small tent, carried on the shoulders of four or more men, a prestigious person would be carried, but once they arrived at the destination of the Hajj, the Emir or Sheik would have to exit this carrier and walk along with other pilgrims because the belief is that all the pilgrims are equal. The pilgrims must also wear the same type of garment consisting of two white pieces of cloth to show equality. 

The pilgrimage to Mecca, I learned, was actually something that preceded Mohammed, but that it was he who purified it of false gods and icons of pagan belief. So many people today want to make the  journey, the participants have to be selected through a lottery. In earlier eras, some pilgrims would die trying to make it to Mecca due to the dry conditions in the deserts they had to cross.

As we left the MIA and walked toward the Souq, we could see again the dazzling light show of Doha's skyline 

Scenes from the Souq

Friday night we went to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant at the Souq. It was a pleasant evening so there were lots of people out. We sat on a rooftop deck for dinner and watched music videos and excerpts from Arab Idol along with the many people at the restaurant. The food was OK - not as spicy as I had expected.

The museum at night