The Mal Lawal Heritage Exhibition

Yesterday I stopped by the Doha Exhibition Centre to see the heritage exhibition called Mal Lawal (which apparently means “from the old days”). It was a lot more impressive than I thought it would be.

Out front was a beautiful flower display, a lot of old cars, and a large outdoor food court where small enterprises were selling various types of food and desserts.

Inside there was a small souq as well as a café (not including the Costa Coffee which was also open). Surprisingly it seems that most the people here were Qataris and other Arabs, there were almost no ex-pats. Maybe word hasn’t gotten around.

In the Exhibition Centre itself are large displays of traditional, historical, or vintage items. Clothing, money, weapons, documents, books, and all sorts of other things trying to document the culture of the region. It wasn't just limited to Qatar, there were items on display from Bahranis, Omanis and so forth.

There was also a 16th-century Kaaba cover, flanked by some antique globes.

There was a kids area, but I didn't go in (it's for kids – duh)

My favourite items had to be the old photographs, showing Qatar from the 1950s and 60s. Looks like the traffic hasn't changed much ;-)

and there was also a stage where live performances of Arabic singing and dancing were taking place.

Admission is free and the exhibition is on until February 28th. I think it's well worth the effort to go see it.