During 1903 and 04, Hermann Burchardt—a financially independent traveler from Berlin—voyaged by dhow around the Middle East photographing cities rarely visited by other photographers, accompanied by his Yemeni secretary, Aḥmed Muḥammad el-Ǧarādī. In the Omani port cities of Muscat and Muttrah, he was welcomed in public spaces, where he captured people engaging in everyday activities. The Berlin Museum of Ethnography has over 2000 of Burchardt’s original black-and-white photographs.

Burchardt made photographs free of the conspicuous staging and voyeurism so often seen in European and touristic photography of the time. His photos of Oman reveal its diverse population from throughout the Indian Ocean. He provides glimpses of the commercial hearts of the cities he visited, as well as the defensive terrain protecting Muscat in particular, which was a strategic oasis on the maritime silk and spice routes. Few others rendered early 20th c. Oman with such subtlety and complexity.

Since the 2nd c., Muscat has been an important oasis along the maritime trade routes connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. Long cosmopolitan, Muscat’s distinct settlements of Omanis, Beluchis, Persians, Bahrainis, and people from east Africa expanded beginning in the 16th century. This view, looking north, shows Al Mirani Fort’s watchtowers and fortifications (r). Buchardt’s photos capture how the city’s wealth and plentiful water supply shaped the defensive layout of the city facing the sea.

The palace of the Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar, on the left, was relatively quiet after Sultan Sayyid Said transferred his residence to Zanzibar in 1833. He rarely visited his Muscat palace. On the right is Fort Mirani, built by the Portuguese in 1527 in the short interval before Omani rulers took control over Muscat’s silk and spice routes. The low white building with a small domed tower in the center is a mosque, typifying the minimalism and simplicity of Omani mosque architecture of the era.

Burchardt’s photos stood out from the typical touristic shots of the region. Unlike the monumental imagery of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine abundant in the 1850s, his photos included local people at ease. Here, young women from east Africa—heads uncovered—curiously observe the photographic process. Traveling through the Middle East, he captured public and private places as determined by the laws of hospitality, following the wishes of his hosts. He found Oman a particularly welcoming environment.

This view from near today’s Ali Musa Mosque shows two- and three-story houses in Muscat’s wealthy center. With exterior walls feet thick, many of these homes were built from 1800-1850 with timber from east Africa and India, reflecting the lucrative trade that built Oman’s old cities. About 5,000 people lived within the city walls and 5,000 in the suburbs. Burchardt focused on the social and economic topography of the city and Omani people, rather than the monumental architecture others captured.

Burchardt’s composition reveals Muscat’s centuries-old divide—the walled city filled with grand houses, while the exterior neighborhoods display modest homes surrounded by gardens and small farms. The town walls met with cliffs and were fortified with towers, both of which protected the city from the interior mountain passes. The marsh in the foreground is a remnant of a moat that once surrounded the city’s 16th c. walls. Today, Muscat’s history is on display at the National Museum of Oman.

This remarkable photograph offers a rare glimpse of a community gathering just outside of Muscat, where men and women come together for an event, the details of which are unfortunately lost. The Hillat Hilalu quarter was home to about 50 residences, seen in the background. Beyond is the Burg Rawiya, a prominent watertower for the city’s aqueduct system.

The city of Mutrah was larger than Muscat, and by 1900, it was the commercial center of Oman with 14,000 residents. The harbor was an important trading center where a polyglot citizenry spoke Arabic, Persian, Swahili, and Hindi. Burchardt focused on the mix of people working at the waterside. The houses of wealthy merchants are visible. Beyond are mountains where grapes, apples, and fruits grew in abundance during the cooler seasons.

If you enjoyed these photos of a long lost time in Muscat, then you’ll love the companion Apple Maps Guide, Early Photography and the Indian Ocean. Ride the trade winds around the Arabian Sea and down the east coast of Africa as the brave sailors in their dhows did over a century ago. Follow the links to the National Museum of African Art for a large collection of self-assured portraits that have more in common with today’s selfies than the staid studio photographs of our popular imagination.