Omani Maritime Museum and Sea Culture
Discover the extraordinary seafaring legacy of Oman at Sur maritime museum, celebrating the navigation skills, astronomical knowledge, and commercial enterprise of Omani sailors who ruled Indian Ocean trade routes.
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Sur Maritime Museum
Explore the Sur Maritime Museum where traditional navigation instruments, dhow models, and historical maps tell the story of Omani seamanship that connected the Persian Gulf to India, East Africa, and China.
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Traditional Navigation Display
Study the traditional navigation instruments including the kamal latitude gauge, the magnetic compass, and the star charts used by Omani captains to cross open ocean without GPS across centuries of trade voyages.
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Indian Ocean Trade Routes
Learn about the ancient Omani trade network linking Sur to Zanzibar, the Malabar Coast, and China, the seasonal monsoon winds enabling regular voyages that sustained a vast Indian Ocean commercial empire.
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Dhow Types Exhibition
See models of the different dhow types built at Sur, from the small shu and battil fishing vessels to the magnificent ghanjah ocean trader and the ghalb coastal cargo carrier, each suited to specific routes.
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Omani Sailors Heritage
Read about famous Omani navigators including Ahmed ibn Majid, the Navigator of the Seas, who guided Vasco da Gama across the Indian Ocean and whose celestial navigation manuals are still studied today.
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Rope and Sail Workshop
See a demonstration of traditional rope-making from coconut fiber and sail-weaving from woven palm fronds, skills practiced by Sur sailmakers to equip the dhow fleets for their long ocean voyages.