BAIT ADAM MUSEUM

Latif Al Bulushi, three words in French, Omani cap screwed on his head, gives us a wide welcoming smile. This museum, he wanted it and financed it with his savings, and this since 1999, probably so that he wouldn't have to spend his old age watching TV. Can an autodidact play the curator? By opening the doors of its collections, our host provides immediate proof of this, taking us on an absolutely striking visit, here Umayyad and Zanzibar coins struck with cloves, there original letters from a former sultan to the president of the United States or a map by Rigobert Bonne, Louis XVI's cartographer at the Navy's hydrographic service. And this chess set, a Chinese marvel in ivory offered to the White House in 1833. We stop again in front of the official agreement granting navigation under the French flag to the dhows of Sur and, stunned, in front of the stunningly beautiful photographic portrait behind her mask, a Madonna with a piercing gaze. Assembled over more than twenty years, these personal treasures now populate vast rooms on the ground floor of Latif's personal residence, named Adam after his son. Our suggestion: visit Bait Al Baranda, the Museum of Omani History in Mutrah, and then treat yourself to Bait Adam for exchange, encounters and unique pieces. Don't hesitate to make a detour to the shop: it offers typical Omani objects to bring back as souvenirs, at rather interesting prices.