© Firas Al Raisi, Luminosity Productions
Muttrah, a district in the east of Muscat, is one of the oldest trading centres in the Arabian world. For centuries, goods arriving across the Indian Ocean from India, China and Europe have been changing hands there.
In the 1970s, the largest harbour of the Sultanate of Oman went into operation in Muttrah, and open steel halls were built there for the fish market. The activities of the fishermen, who moor their boats there every morning and sell their catches, became an important tourist attraction.
Plans were made to expand the role of tourism and for cruise ships to anchor in the harbour; but apart from a large souk, or marketplace, Muttrah did not have much to offer. That perhaps explains why the city administration directly commissioned Snøhetta, the internationally famous architects from Norway, to design a local fish market. In future, it was no longer to be just a trading point for seafood, but a landmark and centre of attraction for people from all over the world.
In the 1970s, the largest harbour of the Sultanate of Oman went into operation in Muttrah, and open steel halls were built there for the fish market. The activities of the fishermen, who moor their boats there every morning and sell their catches, became an important tourist attraction.
Plans were made to expand the role of tourism and for cruise ships to anchor in the harbour; but apart from a large souk, or marketplace, Muttrah did not have much to offer. That perhaps explains why the city administration directly commissioned Snøhetta, the internationally famous architects from Norway, to design a local fish market. In future, it was no longer to be just a trading point for seafood, but a landmark and centre of attraction for people from all over the world.