The main cultural assets of Qatar

The State of Qatar is actively developing its cultural sector, carefully preserving the past while ushering in new, award-winning architecture and bold urban planning.
Qatar has a wealth of cultural and natural heritage, an important collection of Islamic art and manuscripts, as well as a collection of modern art. Archaeological remnants and sites are also present on the territory. In the cities, the mosques and souq are testimonies of ancient cultural and religious traditions.

The legal framework on cultural heritage conservation

Qatar’s constitution of 2003 states in article 24 that the State is in charge of taking care of the country’s national cultural heritage. The protection and regulation of cultural heritage and antiquities are also regulated by Law n.2 of 1980 on Antiquities, which specifies what constitutes antiquities (monuments of generations, ruins of past generations and movable and immovable discoveries related to art, science, ethics, daily life, etc. with a history of 40 years or more); the difference between movable and immovable antiquities; the ownership of such items and the regulation of their sale and transfer of ownership.
Qatar has adopted several international conventions concerning the protection of cultural heritage, including the 1954 Hague Convention and its second Protocol; the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property; the 1972 World Heritage Convention; the 2001 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List

Qatar has one cultural heritage property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List – the archaeological site of Al Zubarah. The small coastal settlement was one of many fortified trading towns around the Persian Gulf. Al Zubarah flourished as a centre of global trade and pearl diving in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Qatar also has three elements of intangible cultural heritage inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

• Falconry, a living human heritage
• Arabic coffee, a symbol of generosity
• Majlis, a cultural and social space

Qatar is a Member State of ICCROM since 26/04/2012

Mandates in ICCROM Council since 1958:

ICCROM Staff since 1959: - None -

Governmental Cultural Institutions

• Ministry of Culture
• Qatar National Library

Museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions

• Qatar Museums

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