Bahrain

Visited: March 2023

Duration of visit: 4 days

Capital city: Manama

Population: 1.50 million (2023): 690.000 Bahraini, 810.000 foreigners

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

• Construction of new buildings, malls, roads, bridges and mosques in many different areas at the same time.
• Permanent landfill process creating new land from ocean, that has been changing the surface of the country.
• The northern part of the main island (Bahrain Island) is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
• Renting a car and exploring the southern part of the main island.
• The significant influence of workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines to the cultural identity of the country.
• Bahrain dinar is the second strongest currency in the world (after Kuwait dinar), but prices are reasonable.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the third smallest Asian country (694 square kilometers), located only 24 kilometers off the east coast of Saudi Arabia and 28 kilometers from Qatar. It is one of the earliest countries to convert to Islam and the site of the ancient land of the Dilmun civilization – a mercantile civilization that thrived in today’s Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait from the fourth millennium BC through to the ninth century BC, controlling trade routes along the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain declared and achieved nationhood in 1971, fending off claims to sovereignty from the Shah of Iran and immediately joining both the United Nations and the Arab League. In the late 20^th century, Bahrain has started investing in banking and tourism sectors with petrol money that was pouring into the government’s account.

At the same time, the country started to liberalize, allowing alcohol and a more relaxed atmosphere in order to attract foreign visitors, especially Saudis, who were looking for entertainment and fun to escape the rigorous restrictions in their homeland. The Bahrain Grand Prix of 2004 was seismic – it was the first time such a swirl of supercars had been held in the Middle East.

Bahrain comprises 51 natural islands which adds to the natural beauty of this country. Apart from the natural islands, Bahrain is also brimmed with 33 artificial islands (the number keeps raising).

Modern architecture, mosques, museums and traditional markets don’t really reflect the real culture of the country. It is almost impossible to define the traditional culture or customs in a daily life of Bahrain.

For me, Bahrain per se is such a small country that it is difficult to consider it worthwhile a visit as sole destination. I combined it with a trip to African Horn and Kuwait in spring 2023 to conquer Bahrain as the last Arab country, beside Yemen, which was off the limits at that time due to ongoing civil war.

The glittering and luxurious airport terminal was deserted on my arrival; probably because of Ramadan that started some days before. I quickly purchased a local SIM card, but getting a ticket for a bus ride was not so easy, because it had to be paid in cash. After an hour I finally found a branch of Bahrain bank that changed me USD without commission, bought an inexpensive bus ticket and caught a ride to my hotel in the area of Juffair.

I was bewildered when entered to an enormous apartment that I had previously booked through Booking.com. Since I always search for cheap options, I didn’t expect a 110 square meters apartment divided in oversized bathroom, bedroom, living room, toilet, kitchen and dinning room that were connected with a long hall.

The convenient location of Butterfly Residence complex was only ten minutes’ walk from the biggest mosque, Al Fateh Grand Mosque, on one side, and the famous American Alley, with bars, restaurants and Thai massage saloons on the other side.

The area of Juffair includes large parts of land reclaimed from the sea, where development has rapidly happened over the years. Hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and a big variety of apartment buildings for tourists and permanent foreign workers, make it a good base to stay and explore Bahrain.

My first whole day of exploring the capital Manama was dedicated to walk around the city center main attractions. First, I visited the biggest mosque in Bahrain – Al-Fateh Mosque. A rather new structure built in 1987. The mosque was one of the biggest in the world at that time with the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at the same time.

The world’s largest fiberglass dome, Italian marble, Austrian chandeliers and Indian teakwood for doors, are good reasons to claim quality of the work. At the same time, some of the most important features were explained to me during the tour by an Islamic Center representative.

The guide Fatima didn’t dedicate a lot of time to architectural details, focusing more on Islam, its creator and disrespect of many Muslims around the world, who too often ignore the main lessons of Prophet Mohamed.

Public transport is well organized, buses are modern, never busy and inexpensive.

When I finally managed to buy a plastic card that can be uploaded with credit, I was all set. There was no need to use a taxi in the city, but I walked a lot, since some areas are not connected with public transport.

Manama is home to a very diverse population. After periods of Portuguese and Persian control, later invasions from the ruling dynasties of Saudi Arabia and Oman, Bahrain established itself as an independent nation in 1971.

Today, the population structure is very similar to that in other Gulf countries, where local residents are in minority. If statistically Bahrainis should represent 46% of the population, in practice, I would recognize less than 10% as being of local origin. Maybe it was because of Ramadan, particularly in popular and commercial areas where I walked around, but I could definitely not notice them.

Bahrainis are easily spotted: men wear the Thobe (a loose, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment), predominantly in white color and Ghitraa (head scarf), while women wear the Abaya (long dress) and Hijab (head scarf), primarily in black color.

It seems that they seldom participate in regular public activities. Where they are present in business, is obvious, that they are not as knowledgeable as foreign workers of Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Philippine origin.

Manama’s skyline is brimmed with glistening skyscrapers and other modern buildings. The most outstanding part of Bahrain’s skyline is the set of twin towers which are 240 meters high – the Bahrain World Trade Center.

The strikingly beautiful building has become synonymous with Bahrain. Its cool colors and sleek aesthetics create an ultra-modern backdrop, against which global corporations, luxury brands and five-star hospitality meet architectural ingenuity and flair. A 50-floor twin tower complex was designed by the multi-national architectural firm Atkins; construction of the towers was completed in 2008.

The Bahrain World Trade Center is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design, but they didn’t work during my visit.

They are expected to provide up to 15% of the towers’ total power consumption.

Extremely prestigious stores with high end brand didn’t attract many visitors during the time I walked through WTC.

In Bahrain National Museum was the first and the last time that I noticed other tourists in Bahrain, most of them in tour groups. The much-vaunted museum disappointed me with the underutilization of space and excessively detailed explanation, which can only be interesting for experts. The entire museum has been divided into six main sections, featuring six halls, and housing artefacts dating back to 4,000 years old kingdom.

The most intriguing part for me was the profound explanation and exhibition of the mysterious Dilmun Burial Mounds.

I preferred much more Beit Al Quran, which houses a rich collection of Qurans, Islamic calligraphy, manuscripts, wood carvings and other artefacts. The museum exhibits Qurans from different ages, sizes, languages and materials. The most interesting piece is a miniature one, that measures only 4.7cm by 3.2cm. Most of the holy books are in very good shape and high quality.

No wonder why the museum has been acknowledged as one of the most renowned Islamic museums in the world.

Manama Souq is a combination of traditional markets where products such as souvenirs, spices, jewelry, textile, carpets and many other products are offered. It is much smaller than in Kuwait City, less vibrant (during Ramadan) and mostly managed by Indians.

What called my attention the most here, were many Indian construction workers, who having finished their shifts, stopped on numerous food stands to buy simple snacks. They hurried home to be ready for dinner after the sunset, when during Ramadan, eating is permitted.

Another area that I visited is called Muharraq. Dating back to the Dilmun Civilization, it used to be the capital of Bahrain until 1932, when it was replaced by Manama. Today it is predominantly Bangladeshi community that run famous sweet shops, cafeterias and informal businesses that represents the exact opposite of the orderly city of Manama.

On the second full day of my stay in Bahrain, I rented a car to explore more remote area outside of the capital city Manama. I quickly noticed that, not only Manama and Muharraq, but the whole northern part of the island is continuously inhabited. Perhaps the buildings are slightly lower and less luxurious moving outside of Manama, but the density of the population keeps very high.

The only obstacle to raise buildings in every single piece of land (beside high prices of land) seems to be the old Dilmun Burial Mounds – burial mound fields consisting of tumuli (chambers), constructed during the Early Dilmun Period over a span of 450 years, approximately between 2,200 BC and 1,750 BC.

Several square kilometers of mounds were said to be one of the largest cemeteries in the ancient world. Approximately 350,000 ancient grave mounds could have been solely produced by the local population over thousands of years, concentrated in the northern part of the island. Each of the tumuli is composed of a central stone chamber that is enclosed by a low ring-wall and covered by earth and gravel, up to 10 meters in diameter and up to two meters high.

The burial mounds are protected by UNESCO and seem to be respected by real estate developers, who are not allowed to include these areas in their construction plans.

The southern part of the island is a complete contrast to the overpopulated, modern and developed north.

The deserted, unattractive landscape is laced with pipelines, oil pumps, oil and gas drilling infrastructure and refineries.

It is as if the roads were built after the existing gas infrastructure, because only when the pipes cross the roads, they are hidden underground. If, in the north, the goal of perfection is pursued in all details, the only objective in the south is the efficiency in gas and petrol exploration at any cost.

The only outstanding phenomenon in the area is the Tree of Life. This 400-years old mighty tree in the middle of the desert has been challenging the laws of natures for centuries. With no visible source of water or other green plant of similar size, the 10 meters high tree with strong branches is abundantly covered with green leaves.

Various theories try to argument the existence of this miracle: long roots that grow fifty meters bellow ground to reach the source of water, the location of an old Garden of Eden or even the capability of the tree to extract moisture from the grains of sand. In 2009, the tree was nominated to the New 7 Wonders of Nature list, but it did not finish on the list.

In 2023, Bahrain transformation is surreal and it seems that it has still a long way to go. Many converted areas are ready to host new malls, modern buildings or business centers. I haven’t found a single village or traditional area, where camels, goats or cultivation of land would be performed in an old, traditional way.

The idea of converting every single piece of land to a luxury building, villa, shopping center, business opportunity or residential area has been obvious on every corner of the northern part of the main island.

I don’t understand the mindset of the royal family and main creators of this reinvention, but if they don’t stop soon, the country will become overcrowded and the quality of life might decrease.

Beside shopping malls and skyscrapers, there is not much to see or do in Bahrain for a visitor with a European perspective on quality of life. However, Bahrain is a paradise for people originating in more controlled and restricted countries that can find alcohol, liberal dressing acceptance and less supervised society as a perfect place for vacations, shopping or living.

I missed contact with people, nature and traditions – like food, markets, cultural events or parks. Money can buy and create many material goods, but it can not replace the hospitality of people, colorful markets, improvisation or surprising coincidences.