Muscat, Oman
Natural history museum in Muscat, Oman
The Natural History Museum in Muscat's Al Khuwair district, in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture complex opposite the Zawawi Mosque, opened on 20 December 1985 and gives a detailed picture of Oman's wildlife and plants: native mammals, birds, insects and reptiles, with a small botanical garden. Its best-known room is the whale hall, with the huge skeleton of a sperm whale washed up on the Omani coast in 1986. Other halls hold marine and land fossils, including fossil coral from Wadi Sahtan in Rustaq estimated at over 270 million years old, petrified wood, and teeth of ancient elephant relatives such as Deinotherium and Gomphotherium, alongside mounted animals of Oman: the Arabian leopard, caracal, Arabian oryx, Arabian wolf, red fox, Nubian ibex, flamingos, owls and falcons. It is small and straightforward, but ideal for families and animal-loving children, and a good introduction to Oman's natural variety before trips to the mountains, desert and sea.
Allow an hour. Hours are mostly mornings, with a short Sunday evening session per Wikivoyage, so check before going. It is near the airport and the Al Khuwair hotels, and pairs well with the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the same morning.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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AttractionMuscat, Oman
