Manama, Bahrain
26° 14' N 50° 34' E
Nov 15, 2008 18:05
Distance 492km

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Country #69

I was feeling restless and ready to do some more traveling and touring of the Gulf area.  In total there are six countries in the Gulf, these being the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.   One of my goals while here is to visit all of them.  So far, after this trip, I will have been to the first three; and while Saudi Arabia is next door, I am unlikely to be able to go there due to visa issues.  Oman is a must, but I will save that until I have a travel mate, which may not be too long in the waiting. 

 

It was a short, one hour flight to Bahrain. The airport I flew out of is in Sharjah, and only 10 minutes from campus. The country of Bahrain is a small island (700 square K) between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with a population of 750,000.  Unlike the Emirates, it is not overrun by expatriates. Over half the population are nationals, who even drive the cabs, which you would never see in Dubai.  I got in to my hotel by 6:30 PM and was out wandering about by 7 PM in the Manama area of the city.  It very quickly became clear that there is little to nothing to do here, so I walked 4 K that evening and called it an early night.

 

Up at 7AM on Friday and started to walk immediately.  By the end of the day, I had clocked over 20 K.  Most of this was in Manama, which is the old part of the capital and the most interesting and touristy.  I soon realised that my observations of the previous night were correct:  there is nothing to do in Bahrain.  Even though it is an island, there are no beaches to speak of.  There is a lot of construction going on, but they are just pushing out the edge of the island and putting new buildings in front of what was previously the water front.  It rather ruins the place, as the corniche is not even on the water's edge in many places.  There are two points of interest here, one being the thousands (85,000) of burial mounds/burrows that cover the island.  For almost a thousand years, anyone of any standing was buried in these low hill-like mounds.  Some of the mounds are quite high, upwards of 10 metres, but most are only a few metres high.  7% of the island is reserved for these burial plots.  The second matter of interest is that since 2004, there has been a Formula One race here in April.  You can see how the island and economy is geared for this event, but after that I am not sure why anyone would ever visit here.

Bahrain is unique in the Gulf in that it was the first to discover and exploit its oil.  This development started in 1932.  The country now has the fame of being the first Gulf country to start running out of oil.  To replace the oil, the country is now the "party" capital of the Gulf.  Alcohol, gambling and other forms of 'entertainment' are tolerated here, so citizens, particularly from Saudi Arabia, come here in droves to engage in activities which are not permitted elsewhere in the Arab world.  To make it easier to get to Bahrain, a 26K causeway connecting the island to Saudi Arabia was completed in 1986.  On the weekend when I was there, you could see a stream of cars from Saudi arriving.  Not being Arabic, the appeal of the island did not speak to me.  Bahrain also has the most effective and functioning democracy in the Gulf area.  There is an elected parliament and a semblance of representative government.  Finally, given it is so small, it is quite progressive in its Islamic traditions.  Both Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam are permited and encouraged here. I was allowed to go into, and stay, during the call to prayers at the service in the large central mosque. Of note, only a few worshippers showed up, but nonetheless this was a first.

On the Friday, I walked everywhere and ate all sorts of different food.  Early the next morning, for the first time in all my travels, I was hanging my head against the toilet, feeling sick as a dog and sweating like crazy.  I stayed in bed until 10 and rented a cab to drive me about the island that morning.  The food reaction was subsiding, but I was still feeling off.  Asked the cab to drop me off at the airport three hours early, as I had seen enough.  In short, if there was a right time to get sick on my travels, this was the time to feel unwell.   So, unless you are a real fan of F1 car racing, this is one place I would not make a point of visiting.  Country number 69 was not a winner; you win some, you lose some. 

 

Photos / videos of "Country #69":

Like many other countries in the GCC (Gulf Co-operative Council), there are many dowhs which go between India, Iran and the other Gulf countries. As Bahrain is an island, most things come here by boat. I knew I was traveling again when I would spend 20 minutes watching a crane lift a building. This means I have time to spend doing whatever my heart fancies at that moment. Like other GCC countries, there is a lot of construction going on in Bahrain. Bahrain has over 85,000 burial mounds on it. 5% of the land is reserved for these burial grounds. These graves go back 4,000 years. The dead were buried under these piles of dirt. This is a very large burial hill right behind a market area. Climbed to the top of the mound and looked over the town of A Áli. In the distance you can see another burial hill and a minaret in the foreground. Looking more closely at the mosque in front of the burial mound. The farmers' market at the base of the burial mound. These burial hills are everywhere, almost like ant hills. From the highway here you can see an oil pipe line and a mound in the distance. Bahrain was the first Arab country to discover oil. It was found in 1931. As the oil has been exploited for almost 80 years, Bahrain's reserves are running down. As they were first off in the oil boom, their economy flourished in the 1970's and 80's and then their oil boom started to cool. The causeway to Saudi Arabia. There is a 12 K
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