The Wilayat of Bidiya attracts several tourists every day. It hosts visitors from different countries due to its soft winter when tourists love to explore the desert.
The place offers activities like camel riding, dune bashing as well as sand boarding. Others prefer to learn about the types of plants and trees that grow exceptionally well in desert environments.
Al Sharqiyah is considered as one of the most beautiful camping areas in the Sultanate of Oman. Visitors prefer this area due to the ease of access and the availability of services close to it. Tourist camps around are spread over on the sands with tourism services to explore the golden desert.
Another attraction Bidiya Museum, which is designed like a traditional Omani house made of stone and mud. It displays old guns, silver daggers, traditional clothes, tools and utensils made of pottery and decorative copper ware.
The number of archaeological and heritage items here is estimated at about 18,000 artifacts, including weapons, coins, crafts, fashion, etc., which tell the history of the Wilayat of Bidiya in particular and the Sultanate of Oman in general.
The Bidiya Museum is located near Al Mantrib Castle. Established in 2008 by individual efforts, it is an archaeological and heritage asset. The museum building was designed to simulate the ancient Omani architectural character.
The museum’s northern building consists of two floors and contains seven galleries, in which several models of Omani daggers and swords, which are unique to the governorates of Oman.
The museum's oldest artifacts are trays dating back to the first Stone Age, and some weapons.
On the upper floor of the museum, a collection of traditional tools related to architectural models is displayed. The visitors can get a wonderful view of the desert oases, and one can also see Al Mantrib Castle which was built in the early seventh century AH and was restored and opened as a heritage landmark in 1991.
This museum provides a real opportunity to foreign tourists and new generations to see the authentic Omani heritage. Establishing private museums is a well-known gesture in a number of wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman. Such museums are present in Muscat, Al Rustaq and other cities.
TEXT & PHOTOS BY YAHYA AL SALMANI
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