It seems like every few months, some bigger, better and more ostentatious landmark is built somewhere in the Middle East. Most recently, Atlantis, Dubai’s long-anticipated resort on the manmade Palm Island, held its $20-million opening gala. The lavish underwater-themed resort features 113 acres of family entertainment, including waterslides and gigantic aquariums filled with fish and other sea creatures. With megastructures like Atlantis and the city’s other famous hotel, the Burj Al Arab, it’s easy to label the blossoming Persian Gulf cities as grandiose and flashy.

Qatar: An Art Mecca?

However, the small country of Qatar plans to change that image with the opening of its capital's newest cultural attraction, the Islamic Museum of Art in Doha. The building which houses the new museum was designed by internationally acclaimed architect, I.M. Pei, designer of the Pyramid at the Louvre and Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Pei had to be convinced to come out of retirement for the project, which he admits will likely be his last major cultural design at age 91. After accepting the project, he spent months traveling across the Middle East searching for inspiration. His goal was to create a structure that would embody the “essence of Islamic architecture.” The building’s understated, modern elegance was inspired by a 13th-century mosque in Cairo, an ancient fortress in Tunisia and the Alhambra Palace in Spain. The museum exemplifies the “strong and simple” design that Pei hoped to achieve. “There is nothing superfluous,” says Pei.

Like the Atlantis, the Islamic Museum of Art was built atop an artificial island in the Persian Gulf off the shore of Doha. Unlike the Atlantis, the choice of location came from Pei, who wanted his monument to be isolated from the rest of the city. He hoped that this would prevent the beauty of the building from being overshadowed by future development in Doha, which plans to open more than a dozen new museums in the coming years.

cc: Abdurahman

Yo-Yo Ma, Robert DeNiro and Tribeca Film Fest

The opening ceremonies for the much-anticipated museum began this past weekend and included fireworks, an outdoor exhibition, a lecture from Pei and a performance by Yo-Yo Ma. More than 1,000 invited guests attended, including political leaders, members of the Qatar royal family and celebrities, like Robert DeNiro. However, DeNiro wasn’t there just for pleasure; on Nov. 23, DeNiro signed an agreement to bring a satellite of his Tribeca Film Festival to Doha in November 2009. The new museum will host the event, which plans to feature close to 40 films from internationally acclaimed filmmakers, new talent, and the local Qatari and broader Arab community.

The commission of this building signals a break by Qatar from the rest of the Persian Gulf's sybaritic paradise, full of ultra-modern feats of architecture. Qatar looks forward to acting as a bridge between the Middle East and the rest of the world. While right now, Qatar may seem like an unlikely vacation, the country plans to soon be the Persian Gulf destination for the arts.