Bait Al Zubair Museum

Bait Al Zubair Museum occupies a group of restored traditional houses on Al Saidiya Street in Old Muscat, Oman, near Al Alam Palace and the National Museum of Oman. It is a private museum founded by the Al Zubair family, a prominent Omani merchant and political family, to preserve and display the material culture of the country's traditional life. The museum was established in the late 1990s and grew from the family's own collection of heritage objects. The permanent displays are thematic rather than chronological, and they are spread across the main house, a garden and neighbouring buildings. Collections include the khanjar, the curved Omani dagger, along with swords, rifles, silver jewellery, women's costumes, household items, coins and manuscripts. Scale models and reconstructed rooms show traditional Omani architecture, from mountain forts and coastal houses to old Muscat's streets, and photographs document daily life in earlier decades. Interpretive texts are provided in Arabic and English. The buildings themselves are part of the attraction, with carved wooden doors, whitewashed walls, courtyards and shaded verandas typical of older Omani town houses. The garden includes a traditional falaj irrigation channel and replicas of village buildings, giving an outdoor complement to the indoor galleries. The museum is smaller than the National Museum and can be seen in about an hour, which makes it suitable as a second museum stop on an Old Muscat walk. It is open Saturday to Thursday and closed on Fridays, with admission of roughly OMR 3, although hours and prices should be confirmed on the museum's website, baitalzubair.com. A gift shop sells crafts and books, and a cafe operates on the premises. The museum is within walking distance of the harbour forts and the Muttrah end of the corniche is a short drive away.