Bait Al Zubair Museum — Attraction in Muscat

Bait Al-Zubair is a private museum located in old Muscat city and contains relics from Oman’s military, social, and cultural past. It opened its doors to the public in 1998 and is founded and funded by the Zubair family. The family’s extensive collection of Omani artefacts such as weapons, khanjars, jewellery, household items and costumes are considered to be the finest privately owned collection that offers an insight into Arab and Omani heritage.

The Bait Al Zubair complex is an architectural icon. It consists of 5 buildings (Bait Al Bagh, Bait Al Dalaleel, Bait Al Oud, Bait Al Nahdhah and Gallery Sarah) and a garden, as well as a café and a gift shop. It has four floors of an ever-growing permanent art collection and is considered to be the most extensive art collection by Omani artists.

Bait al Dalaleel allows you to see how Omanis lived in rural and urban Oman over 100 years ago. Gallery Sarah is one of Oman’s houses of contemporary art and even allows local Omani artists to sell their artwork abroad. The gallery also doubles-up as a meeting place for artists. From the gift shop, you can choose from a hand-picked selection of handicrafts, books, postcards, jewellery, clothing, and much more. Head to the garden to see the barasti (traditional hut made of palm fronds), frankincense trees, and local herbs. There is also a model of a traditional Omani village which shows the Aflaj irrigation system...

Bait Al Zubair is cultural foundation started initially with a private museum that opened its carved wooden doors to the public in 1998. It is funded by its founders, the Zubair family. In 2005 the family established the Bait Al Zubair Foundation as the cultural and social arm of the family-owned business, The Zubair Corporation. The Foundation manages the cultural space and develops projects relating to culture and heritage, the arts, the community, history and publishing. Bait al Zubair displays the family’s collection of Omani artefacts that spans a number of centuries, and is considered to be the finest that is privately owned. Its ethnographic artefacts reflect highly specialised inherited skills that define Oman’s society, both past and present. It is one of the country’s architectural icons and in 1999 was the proud recipient of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ Award for Architectural Excellence, the first time it was awarded in Oman. The complex consists of five separate buildings (Bait Al Bagh, Bait Al Dalaleel, Bait Al Oud, Bait Al Nahdhah and Gallery Sarah) as well as a garden with a number of traditional features, café...

To make it short: If you come to visit Oman, this place ist a must-go, espacially when you're not familiar with the omani culture. And other countrys should have a counterpart to this.

For those who want a full resume: this museum gives probably one of the best impressions of a culture you are able to get from a single place. It ranges from traditional clothing and weaponry, to architecture and even art from today, all of this is enough resembled, that you get a feeling for ist. Because the museum is not a big deal in terms of its size, but if you'd like to you could spend hours in it learning more about the omani culture. In all I'd say that in terms of representing a culture it is better than close to every other museum on the planet right now, which I am serious about, and very experienced too. If you're still reading this are planning to visit Oman, then just go there, it'll help you to understand this culture more than a guide...