QATAR NATIONAL LIBRARY

The new Qatar National Library (QNL) stands out in the landscape as its architecture is so spectacular. The brainchild of architects Rem Koolhas and Ellen Van Loon, it was inaugurated with great fanfare in 2017 to house a project desired by Sheikha Moza, the mother of the current emir Sheikh Tamin Ben Hamad Al-Thani. Its half-seventies, half-futuristic diamond-shaped glass roof provides the building's interior with great light and monumental ceiling heights. The Qatar National Library is a lending library open to the public free of charge, with nearly one million books meticulously arranged in endless shelves, with a section devoted to children and another to teenagers and young adults. It also has a research library with two collections, one devoted to the origins of Arab civilization and the other to Qatar's relations with the rest of the world, as well as a collection of old documents and books. There is also a small exhibition of ancient Koranic copies inside the building. In addition to the libraries, there are computer labs, auditoriums, a pleasant café, a restaurant... Temporary exhibitions of photos and paintings are regularly scheduled.

Smart info: the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra plays for free every month in an amphitheater of the Qatar National Library. Many shows and cultural events are also scheduled.