Bahrain
Imagine living in a country without rivers, lakes, mountains, canyons, or caves that is 92% desert, where there is an average of only 3 or 4 inches of rainfall per year, where the temperature in the summer can get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), where the workweek is Saturday through Wednesday, where there’s no railroad and you can eat a camel burger.
Lavish, tolerant, exotic, flat, dry, surprising, contradictory, scorching, indulgent. These are some of the words that describe the archipelago Kingdom of Bahrain.
Comprised of 33 natural and 51 man-made islands, Bahrain is the third smallest Asian nation with an area of 300 square miles and growing thanks to lavish land reclamation projects. There is a 15.5 mile bridge, the King Fahd Causeway, connecting Bahrain with its closest neighbor, Saudi Arabia. Another bridge with Qatar is in the works. Bahrain is the biggest per capita consumer of electrity in Asia and the third biggest in the world.
Bahrain is home to the ancient civilization of Dilmun, dating at least as far back as 3,000 BC, and thought by many to be the site of the Garden of Eden. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh gives a nod in that direction when its hero travels to Dilmun in search of immortality. And if that wasn’t enough, on the main island of Bahrain, there is a Tree of Life to this day, estimated to be hundreds of years old, kept alive by a mysterious underground water source with no other vegetation in sight.
Much of its past is buried in the more than 100,000 Dilmun burial mounds, dated from 3,000 BC to 1750 BC, one of largest graveyards in the world.
“Dilmun” means “the place where the sun rises.” And Al-Bahrain is Arabic for “the two seas.”
Bahrain is such an old country that it remembers a time before it was Muslim, which may be why there is a tolerance of religion and a relaxed social attitude. For such an old country, Bahrain seems to have been on the cutting edge in all its time periods. It was a pearl diving capital. It was one of the first places in the Persian Gulf to discover oil and build a refinery. More recently, Bahrain won awards for its Twin Towers built with wind turbines, established the first Grand Prix in the Middle East, and opened the largest underwater themepark in the world.
The Sunni House of Khalifa has ruled Bahrain in one way or another since 1783 even though there is a Shia majority in the country, which has sometimes led to civil unrest. Bahrain gained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1971 and established the Kingdom of Bahrain as a monarchy in 2002.
Foods you can eat in Bahrain include:
Khubz (oven-baked flatbread)
Falafel (deep-fried chickpea patties)
Balaleet (sweet vermicelli and eggs)
Keema (minced meat)
Bokhari (grilled checken with rice)
Shawarma (meat sandwich)
Halwa (sweet gelatinous convection with cashews and almonds on top)
And Arabic coffee, called Qahwah, is typically spiced with cardamom
Select the link to go to a recipe for Bahrain’s National Dish: Machboos ala Dajaj (spiced chicken with rice)
Select Bahrain Food: A Journey to Taste the Best Bahraini Dishes for more about food.
Pearling has been part of the lives of the Bahraini for at least 2,000 years. Pearl diver singers are called nahham. The vocal music of the pearl divers is called fidjeri. It includes a lead singer with chorus and clapping, mirwās (small double-sided hand drum), and jāhlah (clay pot played with both hands). Salem Allan and Ahmad Butabbaniya are well-known fidjeri singers from Bahrain. Select Bahrain: Fidjeri: Songs of the Pearl Divers to learn more.
Sawt music is bluesy music influenced by Africa, India, and Persia. Select Sawt El Bahrain – Muhammad Bin Faris to hear Sawt music.
Khaleeji music is a more modern music with the oud (short-necked lute), violin, occasionally bagpipes, and drums. Select The African Influence on Khaleeji Music to learn more.
Select Bahrain: Why Translation Matters to learn about one of Bahrain’s writers.
Sites of Interest in Bahrain, from old to modern. Select the links for more information.
The Tree of Life, 32 feet high. Select to read The Tree of Life: Unusual Tale of Vegetation and Fertility in the Desert.
Barbar Temple, Dilmun culture, Mesopotamian, 3,000 BC
Diraz Temple, 3,000 BC
Saar village from 3,000 BC
A’ali Burial Mounds and Pottery Workshops from 3,000 BC
Dilmun Royal Burial Mounds next to A’ali Pottery Workshop
Qal’at al Bahrain (Bahrain Fort), capital of Dilmun civilization from 3,000 BC, archeological site with museum, the fort itself is a16th century Portuguese fort
Al-Khamis Mosque, first constructed in 692, first mosque in Bahrain
Arad Fort, 15th century Islamic fort, square-shaped with a round tower in every corner. Select Arad Fort to read more.
Manama Souq (Souk), market with gold venders (22 and 24 carat gold), spice venders, same families for hundreds of years
Bahrain Pearling Trail (Baharin Pearling Path) 3.5 km, 17 traditional buildings around Muharraq
Riffa Fort, 1812, also called Sheikh Salman bin Ahmed Fort
Bu Maher Fort, 1840, part of the Bahrain Pearling Trail
Bayt Siyadi House, built for a pearl merchant
Al-Qudaibiya Palace, built in 1934
Al-Fateh Mosque, built in 1987, one of the world’s biggest mosques, can hold 7,000
Bahrain National Museum, opened 1988
Beit Al Quran – 1990, devoted to Quran
Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit, 2004, first Grand Prix in the Middle East
Mohammed bin Faris House for Sut Music, built in 2005, located in musicians original house, in honor of famous musician, very white
Bahrain World Trade Center, built in 2008, with wind turbines
Bahrain National Theatre, built in 2012, looks like a pearl jewelry box
The United Tower, built in 2016, 50 storeys, twisting tower in Bahrain Bay
Dive Bahrain, opened 2019, world’s largest underwater theme park, in the Persian Gulf northeast of Bahrain
Select Ancient Forts of Bahrain for more about the forts listed above.
Hawar Islands are to the south near Qatar and are home to intriguing and sometimes endangered wildlife.
There is an island dedicated to birds with Socotra Cormorants.
Dugong, a kind of broad-snouted sea cow, can be found in its waters.
Gazelles, oryx, ibex, and spiny-tailed lizards also inhabit the islands.
