Right in the heart of Doha, nestled among the most modern buildings, one of the oldest houses in Qatar is located. It is called Radwani house and it is located in Msheireb area, a very old quarter of Doha. Recently this area has undergone a complete transformation and has been developed with an eye on requirements of the future, using modern technologies and concepts of urban development. Radwani house is located at 25°17'14.59"N; 51°31'46.73"E.
Since the 1950s, after the discovery of oil, Qatar has gained great prosperity and achieved rapid development in all fields of life, including architecture. The progress was so fast that now you can find a few traces of old buildings. But to preserve its architectural heritage, the government has preserved and restored many buildings. And Radwani house is one of them.
The house is a masterpiece of Qatari architecture and takes you back in time and provide you a glimpse of old architectural style. As you already have seen in the photographs above that the house is most beautifully restored using not just old materials but also original techniques. In addition to that, it also informs about the daily lives of people in the early part of the twentieth century. In the pictures below you can see the old furniture and other household items on display in different rooms of the house. You can have a fairly good idea that how people lived at that time and what was their lifestyle.
Radwani House: The Main Entrance (21.02.2019.)
Radwani House: The Main Entrance (21.02.2019.)
Radwani House: The Main Entrance (21.02.2019.)
Radwani House: The Main Entrance (21.02.2019.)
Radwani House: The northern wall. (21.02.2019.)
The western wall of the house. (21.02.2019.)
The northwestern corner. (21.02.2019.)
Windows of the Majlis. (21.02.2019.)
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
20 رمضان 1355 ھ
In the name of God Mos Gracious Most Merciful
20 Ramadan, 1355 AH. - 4 December, 1936.
The above two pictures show a model of Radwani House.
Radwani House
"Welcome to Radwani House. This residence was first constructed in the 1920s at the boundary between two of the city's oldest districts - Al Jasra and Msheireb. It was purchased by Ali Akbar Radwani on 5th December 1936 and remained in his family for over 70 years.
Radwani House has been enlarged and remodeled over time and today is one of the most important historic building in Doha. It is also remarkable record of the lives and lifestyles of its inhabitants and reveals a great deal about the wider social change that were experienced in Qatar during the course of the 20th century.
As you explore Radwani House, we hope that you will discover not only how the building has evolved over time but also learn about how traditional Qatari family life was once conducted withing a typical courtyard house."
The Restoration of Radwani House
"The Radwani family moved out of the house in 1971 and the building became derelict. It was restored by the Private Engineering Office (PEO) in 2007. Before work began, the PEO undertook archival research and interviews with people who knew the building's history. It also surveyed the structure to detemine how much could be safely preserved. The PEO was then able to faithfully reconstruct Radwani House as it appeared in final phase of development.
Restoration was carried out using using traditional building methods and materials where possible. However, modern construction techniques were adopted when necessary. For example, the stone-built pillars and wooden lintels of the open colonnade (liwan) were replaced with concrete pillars and steel beams to ensure structural stability.
Though much altered and rebuilt, Radwani House retains all the key features of a Qatari courtyard house. Above all, it displays typical concern for privacy. The plain external facade has no windows except those to the majlis - the main public entertaining space. The passage from the main entrance passes the majlis and turns 90 degrees to ensure that the courtyard - the focus of domestic life - cannot be seen either by visitors or passers-by. And the roof - which would have been used for sleeping during the hot months - is screened by a tall parapet.
Other typical features included the arrangement of rooms around the courtyard. Some of these would have had specific functions, (such as a kitchen or a store) but most would have been multi-functional. Today they have been staged to represent two key periods in the social history of Radwani House - the generation prior to the introduction of electrcity and the one that immediately followed it. "
The Remodeling of Radwani House
"Radwani house was remodeled by the mid 1930s when two small compounds were replaced by a single large structure. This structure incorporated the walls of some of the earlier buildings and used the other as rubble for its floor. This used to be a very common practice and, over time, it would not only create significant changes in floor levels but also a rich layer of buried archaeology.
Excavation of this layer has revealed a number of objects that provide clues to everyday life in Radwani House during the earlier part of the last century. A delicate limestone incense burner dating from the 1920s-1930s still contains ash from when it was last used. An array of discarded pearl shells is probably the result of shore-gathering when people would collect shells at low-tide. Fragments of coffee cups, glass, jewelley, clothes and toys help complete the scene."
The First Buildings
"The earliest surviving fragment of a stone building on the site of Radwani House is located directly beneath your feet. It was excavated by archaeologists, recorded and carefully re-buried. The building was rectangular in plan and set on a raised plinth. It is thought to date from the 1920s or early 1930s and may have been a majlis.
To your left you can see a long L-shaped section of rubble wall. This forms the remains of another building - again of a relatively early date. At the end of the wall you can also see the remains of a well. This was probably set within an adjoining sikka (a narrow street) rather than within the building. A second well dating from this period can be found in the room to your right."
Early Development
"Doha is thought to originate from two neighboring settlements - Al Bidda and Doha. Al Bidda is known to have been established by 1801 and was the larger of the two. Both were in existence by the second half of the 19th century.
A photograph taken in 1904 depicts the area between Al Bidda and Doha. In the foreground is the Ottomon Fort and in the background are the houes of Doha. To the right is the open expanse now occupied by Msheireb Downtown Doha.
The archaeological excavation provides clues as to how this area was once used. In the room to the left are three small holes that once contained timber posts. These may have formed part of simple wooden structure. Adjoining these holes is a pit that was probably a quarry for limestone or gypsum.
A number of intersting objects were also found. Three bullet casings hint at the nearby Ottoman encampment, whilst an array of 1920s pottery fragments found below (and therefore pre-dating) the excavated walls suggest that the local people used to dump rubbish in the area."
The Archaeology of Radwani House
"Aracheology is the study of human history through the excavation of sites and analysis of remains found beneath the ground. It supports other areas of historical research such as the study of written documents and plans, and often provides the only evidence of a past that has disappeared without record.
The excavation of Radwani House was undertaken in the winter of 2012-2013 by a team of archaeologists from University College London Qatar. The team's findings have revealed much about the development of Doha and the day-to-day lives of the city's inhabitants.
The work was undertaken in four phases. The first phase was to define the objective of the research - in this case it was to explore the foundations and historic growth of Doha, its transformation to a modern city, and the lives and experiences of its people. The second phase was to examine maps and historical accounts of Msheireb to fiund out as much as possible about its history. The third phase was to excavate those areas considered to be of high archaeological potential. The final phase was to evaluate the data collected. The results of the research will be published so that they are available to other archaeologists and historians.
The archaelogical investigation of Radwani House is the first to have been undertaken anywhere in central Doha. This gallery summarizes its findings."
A photograph of Doha taken from the Ottoman fort in 1904. The open area between the fort and the town is Msheireb.
A view of the main entrance from inside. The majlis is on the right. (21.02.2019.)
The covered area behind the main entrance. (21.02.2019.)
Door and windows of the Majlis. (21.02.2019.)
Courtyard of Radwani House. (21.02.2019.)
A colonnade. (21.02.2019.)
Looking towards the main entrance. (21.02.2019.)
Veranda along the eastern side. (21.02.2019.)
View of a veranda. (21.02.2019.)
Wooden beams are clearly visible. Beams of Danshal wood were used to support the roof. These were imported from eastern Africa, particularly Somalia and were quite expensive but hard and durable.
All the rooms in the house have beautiful wooden doors and windows.
Another view of the veranda along the southern side. (21.02.2019.)
Courtyard. (21.02.2019.)
An artifact on display in the Majlis. (21.02.2019.)
An internal view of the Majlis. (21.02.2019.)
Sitting in the Majlis. (21.02.2019.)
A well inside the house. (21.02.2019.)
Archaeological discoveries of the old foundations. (21.02.2019.)
The house is a masterpiece of Qatari architecture and takes you back in time and provide you a glimpse of old architectural style. As you already have seen in the photographs above that the house is most beautifully restored using not just old materials but also original techniques. In addition to that, it also informs about the daily lives of people in the early part of the twentieth century. In the pictures below you can see the old furniture and other household items on display in different rooms of the house. You can have a fairly good idea that how people lived at that time and what was their lifestyle.
A bed and a clothes chest in a room. You can also see a lantern.
A cupboard.
A view of the kitchen.
In this picture, you can see a grinding stone as well. (21.02.2019.)
A sitting room. (21.02.2019.)
A sewing machine. (21.02.2019.)
A view of a bedroom. You can see a radio on the right side. (21.02.2019.)
An old TV. Probably from 1970s and a telephone set. (21.02.2019.)
A cupboard and a safe. (21.02.2019.)
A bed, lantern, radio and an incense burner. (21.02.2019.)
Radwani House is Doha's connection to its past. In the pictures below, you can see its location in the rapidly changing Doha. For more details kindly visit the website of Origins of Doha on the following link:
Doha 1947.
Doha 1952.
Doha 1959.
Doha 1952.
Radwani House is located in an area which is very popular among tourists and contains many attractions, like Souq Waqif, Al Koot Fort etc. It is also part of Msheireib museums that include Company House, Jelmood House and House of the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Jassim Al Thani. Details for the first two can found on this blog. Your comments and suggestion for improvement or some additional information are most welcome.
Tariq Amir
April 22, 2019.
Doha - Qatar.
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