DOHA, Qatar— The new Museum of Islamic Art in Doha was unveiled to the press today, reports Qatar News Agency. Designed by I.M. Pei and housing a trove of more than 800 artifacts from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the five-story museum has been highly anticipated by the public.

The museum will officially open Friday, November 21, with a free outdoor exhibition, “Museum of Islamic Art Through Qatari Eyes,” to be ceremoniously kicked off by H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, chairperson of the Qatar Museums Authority board of trustees. The show, which runs until December 20, will feature 120 photographs taken during the museum’s construction by nine Qatari photographers. The opening ceremony is to be attended by the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as well as a thousand guests from around the world.

The next scheduled event is a discussion, “Islamic Architecture: From Tradition to Modernity,” featuring the architect and Pritzker Prize Laureate I.M. Pei as a guest of honor on Sunday, November 23.