(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The winding narrow alleys of Al Aqr village in Nizwa, which bore witness to life even before Islam made headway into the region, are slowly coming to life, courtesy the restoration of a few old houses in the vicinity.

The dilapidated crumbling old houses, that have seen hundreds of years of history zip by, are now restored and turned into a heritage hotel by Bawareq Nizwa International for Investment company.

The Nizwa Heritage Inn located in Al Aqr area is just 100m from the historical site of Nizwa Souq and the fort.The hotel is a cluster of six old houses, four of which are for accommodation while the other two house a reception/office and a restaurant.Omar al Sawafi, director, Nizwa Heritage Inn, told Muscat Daily that the restoration was a painstaking process and took over two years.

'The whole setup is designed to provide an authentic Omani experience when traditions and culture formed the mainstay of Omani society.'The guests will feel they are living in the past, albeit with a few modern facilities like air conditioners and Wi-Fi.

'Talking of the process to acquire the houses, Sawafi said that the company bought four houses from the owners, while for two a special agreement has been made to use the houses.'Initially, few of the owners were hesitant to give up their houses as they had an emotional connect which tied them to their ancestral properties.But later on, they were convinced of the restoration work.'Sawafi added that the location of the hotel adds to the old-world charm as Al Aqr village has a history which goes back before the advent of Islam.

'The village has houses which are hundreds of years old and also have two old mosques, one of which is the second oldest mosque in Oman.'The 20-room hotel started operations before Ramadan, and according to Sawafi has been received exceptionally well by the guests.

'We didn't do any elaborate marketing for the hotel, just spread the word through social media platforms and registered on www.booking.com

'The hotel offers a variety of rooms and suites, with rates (summer rates) ranging from RO24 to RO47.

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