Museum sights in Muscat
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A
Children's Museum
Well-signposted, domed building with lots of hands-on science displays.
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B
Bayt Az-Zubair
In a beautifully restored house, the museum Bayt Az-Zubair exhibits Omani heritage in photographs and displays of traditional handicrafts and furniture.
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C
National Museum
With displays of jewellery, costumes and dowry chests, the National Museum has its moments. A mural and collection of boats celebrating Oman's seafaring heritage are probably the best part of a tired collection.
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Natural History Museum
The Ministry of National Heritage houses the small but lovely Natural History Museum. The museum is a must for anyone interested in the local flora and fauna, and there are also some excellent displays on Oman's geography and geology.
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D
Omani-French Museum
With galleries detailing relations between the two countries, the Omani-French Museum provides an interesting snapshot of mostly 19th-century colonial life in Muscat. From October until March, the museum is also open from 16:00 to 19:00.
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E
PDO Oil & Gas Exhibition
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is responsible for much of the rapid growth of infrastructure throughout the country, as outlined in the PDO Oil & Gas Exhibition. To reach it from Qurm, follow the signs for the Crowne Plaza Hotel and turn at the first right along Sayh al-Malih St.
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Oman Museum
In addition to the small displays of artefacts and interesting rooms on Omani architecture, the Oman Museum is worth trying to find for its view over dazzlingly white suburbs and sea, though it's not always open as stated. A taxi from Qurm up the steep 1.3km climb costs about around OR1.
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F
Bait al-Baranda
The new museum, Bait al-Baranda in a renovated 1930s house, traces the history - and prehistory - of Muscat through imaginative, interactive displays and exhibits. A 'cut-and-paste' dinosaur, using bones found in the Al-Khoud area of Muscat and topped up with borrowed bones from international collections, is one of many striking exhibits in this excellent museum. The ethnographical displays help set not just Muscat but the whole of Oman in a regional, commercial and cultural context.
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Sultan's Armed Forces Museum
Despite the less than appealing name, this excellent Sultan's Armed Forces Museum is far more than just a display of military hardware. The museum is housed in Bayt al-Falaj, built in 1845 as a royal summer home but used mostly as the headquarters of the sultan's armed forces. The lower rooms give a comprehensive outline of Oman's history, and the upper rooms explore Oman's international relations and military prowess.
The museum is on the itinerary of visiting dignitaries and you'll be given a mandatory military escort. There's a falaj (irrigation channel) in the grounds outside.
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G
Al-Jalali Fort
Guarding the entrance to the harbour to the east, Al-Jalali Fort was built during the Portuguese occupation in the 1580s on Arab foundations.
The fort is accessible only via a steep flight of steps. As such, it made the perfect prison for a number of years, but now it is a museum of Omani heritage, open only to visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
Neither this fort nor Al-Mirani is open to the public, but photographs are permitted. During palace military occasions, bands of bagpipers perform from the fort battlements, and the royal dhow and yacht are sailed in full regalia into the harbour. With fireworks reflected in the water, it makes a spectacular sight.
reviewed
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