"In order to safeguard our heritage through changing times, it is our duty to preserve all aspects of culture and tradition … Our aim is not only to promote our valuable Omani heritage but to maintain, preserve and study it so that it may benefit succeeding generations and inspire them to sustain the Islamic and Arab identity and traditions."
Mohammad Al Zubair, 1998.
The Founding Family
The Bait Al Zubair Museum takes its name from Sheikh Al Zubair bin Ali (1871-1956), a local dignitary who served three former Sultans. The Sheikh started his career as a clerk and then became Chief of the Diwan to the Royal Court of Sultan Faisal bin Turki, who reigned from 1888-1913. During the reign of Sayyid Taimour bin Faisal (1913-1932), Sheikh Al Zubair bin Ali became a Minister and Member of the State Council, and during the era of Sayyid Said bin Taimour (1932-1970), he served as both a Minister and an Advisor until he passed away in 1956.
In 1914 a number of houses and gardens were purchased by Sheikh Al Zubair bin Ali to make up what was known as Bait Al Bagh (House of Gardens). The house built by the Sheikh was one of the largest in Muscat, comprising five separate entrances and its own dedicated water source. The house was a gathering place for many people and its doors were always open to welcome guests. Statesman, personalities, poets and scholars frequently visited and the house became part of Muscat’s heritage.
Sheikh Al Zubair’s son, Mohammad Al Zubair, transformed the house into a museum, which opened in 1998, in order to complement the national museums in their quest to preserve and exhibit ethnographic material relating to Oman. In 2008 Bait Al Oud (grand house) was opened within the museum compound, and is dedicated to Sheikh Ali bin Juma, the father of Sheikh Al Zubair bin Ali and the grandfather of Mohammad Al Zubair. He was a close advisor to Sultan Thuwayni bin Said and Sultan Turki bin Said in Oman and Sultan Bargash bin Said and Sultan Majid bin Said, rulers of Zanzibar, and his grand house in Muscat was the family’s main residence in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Today, the Al Zubair family are committed to preserving, protecting and presenting Oman’s rich cultural heritage through their carefully assembled collection, which is housed in the museum and spans a number of centuries. The museum presents, hosts and participates in a myriad of temporary exhibitions; produces illustrated lectures and articles; and provides a range of educational services. The family established the Bait Al Zubair Foundation in 2005 to manage Bait Al Zubair Museum and projects relating to culture and heritage, the arts, the community, history and publishing. It is the cultural and social arm of the family-owned business — The Zubair Corporation.
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