The Qatar National Library (QNL) marked National Day with a special tour of its cherished Heritage Collection for Aspire Academy students. The visit offered the youth a unique opportunity to explore Qatar’s rich history.
QNL’s Arab and Islamic Heritage Collection is among the most important aspects of Qatar’s cultural landscape aligned with its vision of ‘bridging with knowledge Qatar’s heritage and future’.
The collection includes a treasure trove of rare books, manuscripts and artefacts that document the richness of Arabic and Islamic civilisations.
During the tour at QNL’s Heritage Collection building, students gained insight into the rare archive and learnt about significant contributions Arab and Muslim scholars have made. One item that particularly interested students was Ptolemy’s Geographia, printed in Rome in 1478. It is the oldest printed map showing the name of Qatar, referred to in Latin as Catara.
Guided by Walid Abdulwahed, QNL’s Library Research Officer, students were joined by Saadi Al Said, QNL’s Associate Director for Administration and Planning.
Al Said said: “Qatar National Library is proud to be celebrating National Day by offering the country’s youth such a special opportunity to explore Arabic and Islamic history through our Heritage Collection. It is essentially a rich repository, holding hundreds of artefacts of immense value to Qatari history and the history of humans as a whole.” The Heritage Collection was founded by Sheikh Hassan bin Muhammad Al Thani in 1979 as part of an initiative to showcase the wealth of historical sources about Qatar, including writings by travellers and explorers who visited the Arabian Gulf region.
Preparations are underway to relocate the collection to its own purpose-built site in QNL’s new location in Education City. The new library building has been designed by renowned architect, Rem Koolhaas, and is scheduled to open in 2015.
The Peninsula
