For centuries, museums have played an integral role in preserving the history of society. Exhibits tell us stories about how our nation, our communities and our cultures came to be.
But not all of the great collections can be found in established and well-oiled museums. The mini-museum of Yusra of Al Khoudh is one of them providing an amazing insight not just into Oman's history but including how women can create their own niche within the society.
Yusra's mini-museum is not accessible to everyone. It's a ladies-only museum that showcased the personal collection of its owner.
At a very young age, Yusra has been interested in arts and artefacts, especially those that tell stories of her roots and the country's history and heritage. Some of the things she collected were hand-me-downs from women of her family, heirlooms that on their own tell amazing stories of struggle and perseverance.
Yusra has been very meticulous about labelling the items, some of them include items that were childhood favourites.
After finishing her Fine Arts degree from Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt in 1986, she decided to take her passion to the next level. After a conversation with her family, she has converted part of their house into a mini-museum accessible to women who would like to learn more about Oman's history and heritage from a woman's perspective.
After finishing her degree, she started working on her dream project and visited various places. She travelled to the interiors of the country to collect artefacts.
She shared, “Due to less knowledge about these antiques, some of the items were neglected” but her study helped her to identify them and their importance in history.
When her relatives and friends heard about her passion, they hand in their historical possessions and even distant relatives started to pitch in.
“Oman is rich in its culture and heritage and apart from the few approved Unesco World Heritage Sites, still people find ancient items buried in the grounds and due to less knowledge, some fail to get its importance'', she said.
Upon entering the mini-museum, it is easy to tell that Yusra is big on keeping the museum as detail-oriented as possible. She has divided it into two sections — one part showcasing old Omani heritage and culture that included items used in the day to day life of ancient times and the other part was how to change over the years has affected the way they do and use things.
Yusra is happy to see that there has been modern interest about items from the past.
She said, “Collection is one part of preserving these antiques but another and most important part is labelling them”.
Since she started, Yusra already collected more than 200 items as part of her collection. Her collection includes antique silver pieces of jewellery (Mariya), different types of coffee beans pots (Qalayat bin), items used for grinding grains (Raha), different types of measuring objects (Meezan), pots used for laban from milk (Qidr), different Omani dresses and many more.
She also has a good collection of pottery, bowls and ceramic plates including coins from different eras and paintings sourced from different locations.
To give all the visitors a realistic feel, she also decorated a place outside the museum with an old hut style house where she serves each guests Omani coffee (Kahwa) and dates.
Yusra shared that she is still pursuing other items to become part of her collection and explained that as long as she has the energy, will keep collecting them.
Yusra shared that she already notified the Heritage and Tourism Ministry about her museum and they have extended their appreciation for her innovative contribution to the Omani heritage. She said she looks forward to their visit but due to the pandemic, she said they may have to arrange it at a better time.
To explore the museum, an appointment must be made in advance via Yusra's Instagram: @bait_turath. Her Instagram has a direct link where visitors can register. Once registration is made, Yusra will be contacting back guests to give them the timing hours. For emphasis, the museum is for ladies-only.
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