Bait Al Safah

Top choice in Al Hamra


This quirky museum is more open house than historical display. Three ladies accompany guests around their traditional house in the aged and crumbling village of Al Hamra. They demonstrate the culinary arts of juniper-oil production, Omani bread-making and coffee-bean grinding, and there's an opportunity for a photo shoot in traditional regional costume. Sitting cross-legged in the majlis (reception room), surrounded by photos of local sheikhs, sampling coffee and dates, and exchanging sign language with the ladies is an experience not to be missed.

The museum is in the old part of Al Hamra. Park by the roundabout at the western end of town and walk along the street past the historic old Yemeni-style buildings. The ladies will spot you before you see them in the interior gloom of the downstairs entrance.

At the time of writing, bread-making courses were being planned and local women were about to take up their traditional crafts in the cool basement of this newly extended, 400-year-old building.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Al Hamra attractions

1. Al Hamra Viewpoint

0.34 MILES

Bathed by the golden light of sunset, with the limestone 'dip slope' of Jebel Shams as backdrop and a thick plantation of date palms in the foreground,…

2. Misfat Viewpoint

2.18 MILES

For the best view of Misfat, turn right by the campground before entering the village. The ancient stone buildings, half buried in a thick date plantation…

3. Al Hoota Cave

5.18 MILES

Embellished with stalactites and stalagmites, this is the only cave in Oman developed for tourism and it's something of a gem. Sensitively lit, this…

4. Ghul Village

5.35 MILES

Affording one of the most lovely vistas in the Hajar Mountains, the abandoned village of Ghul dusts the shoulder of a cliff at the foot of Wadi Ghul, the…

5. Wadi Ghul Viewpoint

8.07 MILES

The term 'Grand Canyon of Arabia' is wholly deserved for this quintessential feature of Oman's spectacular mountain scenery. A short path leads to the…

6. Bilad Sayt

8.39 MILES

Tucked into a limestone pleat in the mountains, Bilad Sayt is a beautiful traditional Hajar Mountain village. Trimmed with neat allotments of corn and…

7. Sharfat Al Alamayn Viewpoint

9.11 MILES

Marking the highest point along the paved road, this spectacular viewpoint overlooks the full reach of the Hajar mountain range. With little hint of the…

8. Snake Gorge

9.12 MILES

Slithering through the heart of the Hajar Mountains, this narrow slot canyon doesn't give up its secrets easily: in fact, it is hard to get a sense of its…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "oman/al-hamra/attractions/bait-al-safah/a/poi-sig/1367923/1331779",
      "destination": "Al-Hamra",
      "continent": "Middle-East",
      "country": "Oman",
      "city": "Al-Hamra",
      "position": "superzone"
    }