Sur Historic Maritime Dhow Shipyard

For millennia, the coastal city of Sur in South Al Sharqiyah served as the heart of Oman's seafaring empire, building the ocean-going vessels that traversed the monsoon winds to Zanzibar, Calicut, and Guangzhou. Sur remains home to the only active traditional dhow-building yard in the Sultanate, where master shipwrights (known as Al Qallaf) construct massive wooden vessels using techniques passed down unbroken through generations. Constructed from heavy Burmese teak, Omani frankincense wood, and native ghaf timber, the dhows—particularly the iconic Ghanjah and Sambuk designs—are assembled without blueprints, using traditional adzes, wooden dowels, and cotton caulking soaked in shark liver oil. Nearby, the Al Ayjah neighborhood charms visitors with its historic coral-stone houses, coastal watchtowers, and a picture-postcard white lighthouse guarding the serene Sur lagoon.