Historical Muscat

Historical Muscat is an attempt to define and explain the historical environment that determined the significance and design of Oman’s capital city Muscat, its twin city Matrah, and their environs prior to 1970. It also examines how the development of the Muscat conurbation since 1970 has transcended the historical boundaries of the existing settlements and how the process of development has proceeded largely without any consideration of the impact on Muscat’s tangible or remembered history.
At the heart of the book is a historical gazetteer of forts, gates, palaces, mosques, houses, quarters, settlements, and other sites covering the broader Muscat region from Bandar Jissah to al-Sib. The text is accompanied by a large number of illustrations, including maps from various eras and both historical and more contemporary photographs.

J.E. Peterson (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University SAIS) has taught in various universities and served as the official historian of Oman’s armed forces. He has published a dozen books and more than 40 scholarly articles on the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf.

"The gazetteer is an invaluable guide to residents and visitors who will wish to explore the older quarters of the city, and perhaps as they read pause and reflect on the villages that have been cleared away to make room for hotels and airports." Peter Clark in Asian Studies, March 2009