Qatar - The Msheireb Museums

Joining Tom for his SIGNS meme. Check out other signs from around the world.

Thursday 9th January

Because there was still lots to see in the Msheireb District (you can read about it in my previous post), we returned there the following day.

To one end of the suburb, is the heritage quarter - an historic area with traditional courtyard houses which were restored, the Msheireb Eid Prayer ground, occupying 3200 sq mt, which dates back to the first decade of the 20th century, and can hold up to 3600 worshippers and the new mosque.

In this heritage quarter are the "Bin Jelmood House", the "Company House", the "Mohammed bin Jassim House" and the "Radwani House", which have been restored and repurposed as individual museums - the Msheireb Museums - which opened to the public in October 2015 and are free to visit.

Bin Jelmood House 

Here the exhibits pay tribute to formerly enslaved people and their contribution to the development of human civilisations. The museum provides space for reflection on the story of slavery and how it evolved into modern forms of human exploitation - the sex industry, child labour, contractual enslavement...

This was the museum where we spent the most time as there was lots to read, and also the most shocking and confronting ...

The extent to which some human beings can be so evil and malicious in the dehumanization, treatment and exploitation of other human beings they consider inferior to them, is shocking!

Most of us know about the controversy during the building stages of the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, when the world criticized Qatar for the treatment of the labourers which were hired - mostly from India, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh, to build the stadiums. (Building started in 2010). 

Workers were living in squalid accommodation, had to pay recruitment fees, wages were withheld, passports confiscated...

In 2017 the Qatari government introduced measures to protect foreign labourers from working in hot weather, limit their working hours and improve living conditions in worker's camps.

Qatari companies used to operate a system called "kafala", under which companies sponsored foreign workers, but then prevented them from leaving their jobs.

The government apparently has abolished that practice.

Camel racing - a popular sport in Qatar and other Gulf countries used to recruit child jockeys, mostly from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. Sadly these kids would sustain injuries and because under age jockeys were illegal, they wouldn't receive medical treatment. Human Rights groups claimed many boys were abducted or sold by their families, were kept in prison-like conditions and were underfed to keep them light.  

In 2005 this practice was banned and children were replaced with robot jockeys. The former Jockey children were given physical and psychological care by Qatar Charity and then repatriated.

Conflict minerals - In 2011, the International Telecommunications Union estimated that there were nearly 5 billion smartphones in the world. Many of these "conflict minerals" used in computers, smart phones, game consoles, etc, come from mines in the Eastern Congo, using slave labour!  Profits from these mines are often used to purchase arms.

Radwani House

First built in the 1920's, it presents traditional Qatari family life and preserves and shares memories of Qatar.

It shows how life changed with the discovery of oil and the arrival of electricity.

Excavation works produced a number of important finds which provide clues to the daily life decades ago.

The inner courtyard of Mohammed bin Jassim House

Excavations showing a bathroom

Mohammed bin Jassim House

In this house we travelled back in time to the early history of Doha, showcasing its present and introducing the transformation of Msheireb over time - with former residents speaking about the district's first bank, first hotel, first pharmacy and first cafes.

Objects from shops, schoolsm etc used in the early days of the Msheireb district

Company House

Set in a house that was once the headquarters for Qatar's first oil company, this museum tells the story of the petroleum industry workers and their families, who helped transform Qatar into a modern country.

An interesting fact - Back then, Qataris were the workers in the oil industry, with British bosses and Indian supervisors.

                     

Petrol workers statues

A common salutation among Muslims - "Peace be upon you"

As we left Company House, the courtyard was full of people drinking coffee, socializing, listening to live music. One of the guides suggested we take a seat somewhere and enjoy the typical outdoor Qatari social life.

We still had things to do before nightfall, so we walked across the road to Souq Waqif as I wanted to buy Arabian sweets to bring home. We had a quick roam around but didn't find the sweets, so we caught an Uber to City Center Doha Mall.

Souq Waqif

 The Abdullah Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque across from the Souq, that we visited at Christmas time. (link to post above).

    

Doha's skyline (taken from our Uber ride)

A hand sculpture I hadn't noticed before and one of the palm street lights

Thursday 9th January - Part 2  - Our last day in Qatar