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The
Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين, Mamlakat al-Bahrayn,
literally: Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Arabic island country in the
Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. Saudi Arabia lies to
the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway, which
officially opened on 25 November 1986. Qatar is to the southeast across
the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge will
link Bahrain to Qatar as the longest fixed link in the world.
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| AL FATEH MOSQUE (GRAND MOSQUE) | ||||
The
Al-Fateh Mosque (also known as Al-Fateh Islamic Center & Al Fateh
Grand Mosque) (Arabic: مسجد الفاتح; transliterated: Masjid al-Fatih) is
one of the largest mosques in the world, capable of accommodating over
7,000 worshippers at a time. The mosque is the largest place of worship
in Bahrain. It is located next to the King Faisal Highway in Juffair,
which is a town located in the capital city of Manama.
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The
mosque very close to the Royal Bahraini Palace, the residence of the
king of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah. The huge dome built on top of
the Al-Fatih Mosque is made of pure fiberglass. Weighting over 60 t
(60,000 kg), the dome is currently the worlds largest fibreglass dome.
Al-Fateh now includes the new National Library which opened to the
public in 2006. The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa ibn Salman
Al Khalifa in 1987. It is named after Ahmed Al Fateh, the conqueror of
Bahrain.
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| AL KHAMIS MOSQUE | ||||
The Al Khamis Mosque
(Arabic: مسجد الخميس; transliterated: Masjid al-Khamys) is believed to
be the first mosque in Bahrain, built during the era of the Umayyad
caliph Umar II.
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The
identical twin minarets of this ancient Islamic monument make it easily
noticeable as one drives along the Shaikh Salman Road in Khamis. It is
considered to be one of the oldest relics of Islam in the region, and
the foundation of this mosque is believed to have been laid as early as
692 AD. An inscription found on the site, however, suggests a foundation
date sometimes during the 11th Century. It has since been rebuilt twice
in both 14th & 15th centuries, when the minarets were constructed.
The Khamis mosque has been partially restored recently.
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| ARAD FORT | ||||
Arad
Fort (Arabic: قلعة عراد; transliterated: Qal'at 'Arad) is a 15th
century fort in Arad, Bahrain. It was built in a typical Arab style
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Close
to the Bahrain International Airport, the fort has been extensively
renovated and presents a magnificent sight when it is illuminated at
night. It is believed that the fort was used by the Omanis during their
brief occupation of Bahrain in 1800, and it is located adjacent to the
strategic waterways between Bahrain Island and Muharraq Island.Little is
known of the fort's history, and there is no firm evidence of the
precise date of construction, but comprehensive excavations have been
undertaken in order to discover its past.
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| BAB AL BAHRAIN | |||||
Bab Al Bahrain (Arabic: باب البحرين, Bāb al-Bahrayn) means Gate of Bahrain.
It located in Manama's central business district (CBD) and marks the
main entrance to the Manama souq. Built by the British in the 1940s, Bab
Al Bahrain once stood at the water's edge. Due to extensive land
reclamation in the later years, one needs to walk more than 10 minutes
to get to the sea. When it was originally designed by Sir Charles
Belgrave in 1945, it housed the government offices of the time and
overlooked the sea. The sea has long been reclaimed. Government Avenue,
which runs alongside Bab Al Bahrain, and the new highway that leads to
Saudi Arabia were built on reclaimed land. Currently, the Bahrain
Financial Harbor is being constructed on further reclaimed land.The
monument itself was refurbished in 1986 to incorporate Islamic
architectural features. Today, the ground floor now houses the tourist
information office and a handicrafts shop.
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The
monument essentially consists of a huge arch, below which runs a road,
which is often referred to as the entrance to the Manama souq
(marketplace). The Government Avenue, which runs in front of Bab Al
Bahrain, contains many major banks and business establishments. The
Government Avenue is perhaps so-called because the offices of the Manama
municipality are located on it. The Gold City (different from Gold
Souq) is a shopping complex for gold ornaments and is also located on
Government Avenue.
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| MANAMA SOUQ | ||||
Manama Souq
(Arabic: سوق المنامة) is the old bazaar (souk) of Bahrain's capital,
Manama. It lies in the north of Manama Peninsula, in-between the old
parts of the city and the CBD, to the east of Noaim and west of Ras
Rumman.
It is a bustling marketplace with numerous traditional as
well as modern shops. The souq (marketplace) is located in the heart of
the city, near Bab Al Bahrain. The souq stretches from Isa Al Kabeer
Avenue on the east side, Government Avenue on the north and Shaikh Hamad
Avenue on the west. One can see and buy all kinds of spices, fabrics,
kaftans, thobes, handicrafts, souvenirs, dry fruits, nuts, and any other
thing one can imagine.
The crowd as well as the traders in Manama souq consist of
Bahrainis as well as expatriates from countries like India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Egypt and neighbouring Persian Gulf countries. The souq is
frequented by tourists from all over the world to experience the
traditional setting of the marketplace which has been preserved over the
years. The Gold souk is also worth visiting and all the gold is
hallmarked and pure. One can only find 18K and 21K gold items. 10K and
14K are not usually acceptable as 'gold' jewelry. The Bahraini pearls
are the only natural pearls in the world today and they are one of a
kind. They are not cultured but natural.
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| QAL'AT AL BAHRAIN | ||||
Qal`at al-Bahrain
(Arabic: قلعة البحرين meaning Bahrain Castle) is an archaeological
site located in Bahrain. It is composed of an artificial mound created
by human inhabitants from 2300 BC up to the 1700's. Among other things,
it was once the capital of the Dilmun civilization, and served more
recently as a Portuguese fort. For these reasons, it was inscribed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
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Qal`at al-Bahrain
is a typical tell – an artificial mound created by many successive
layers of human occupation. The strata of the 300x600-metre tell testify
to continuous human presence from about 2300 B.C. to the 16th century
A.D. About 25% of the site has been excavated revealing structures of
different types: residential, public, commercial, religious and
military. They testify to the importance of the site as a trading port
over the centuries. On the top of the 12m high mound, there is the
impressive Qal`at al-Burtughal (Portuguese fort), which gave the whole
site its name, qal`a, meaning fort. The site was the capital of the
Dilmun, one of the most important ancient civilizations of the region.
It contains the richest remains inventoried of this civilization, which
was hitherto only known from written Sumerian references.
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| BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX | ||||
The Bahrain Grand Prix (Arabic: جائزة البحرين الكبرى) is a Formula One Championship race which first took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. The Bahrain Grand Prix, sponsored by Gulf Air, made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East.
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Bahrain
fought off fierce competition from elsewhere in the region to stage the
race, with Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates all hoping for
the prestige of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix. The inaugural race was
given the award for the "Best Organised Grand Prix" by the FIA. The
Bahrain Grand Prix has usually been the third race of the Formula One
calendar, taking the spot of the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was moved
in 2004 to October. However, in the 2006 season, Bahrain swapped places
with the traditional opener, the Australian Grand Prix, which was pushed
back to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games.
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| BAHRAIN NATIONAL MUSEUM | ||||
One
of the first museums in the Gulf, the Bahrain National Museum opened in
1988. The site itself, on the edge of the sea, is a tremendous
attraction, adding to its contemporary ambience which is influenced by
the white travertine façade and dramatic courtyard decorated with
contemporary sculptures. The exhibition halls showcase artefacts
uncovered in the numerous archaeological sites in Bahrain and
underpinning the longstanding history of the island. The rich collection
covers 6000 years of Bahrain’s history. In addition to the
archaeological exhibits, two halls are dedicated to local customs and
traditions, featuring clothing, housing, rituals and traditional crafts.
Moreover, the art hall features a permanent collection of works by some
of Bahrain’s leading artists as well as regularly hosting temporary
exhibitions.
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Adjacent
to the National Museum can be seen the Art Centre and Cultural Hall,
both of which host temporary exhibitions and concerts throughout the
year. A new addition to this cultural compound is the recently
inaugurated Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage.
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| BARBAR TEMPLE | ||||
The
Barbar temple is an archaeological site located in the village of
Barbar, Bahrain, and considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The
most recent of the three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish
archaeological team in 1954. A further two temples were discovered on
the site with the oldest dating back to 3000 BC. The temples were built
of limestone blocks, believed to have been carved out from the nearby
Jidda Island.
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The
three temples were built atop one another with the second built
approximately 500 years later and the third added between 2100BC and
2000BC. It’s thought that the temples were constructed to worship the
god Enki, the god of wisdom and freshwater, and his wife Nankhur Sak
(Ninhursag). The temple contains two altars and a natural water spring
that is thought to have held spiritual significance for the worshippers.
During the excavation of the site many tools, weapons, pottery and
small pieces of gold were found which are now on display in the Bahrain
National Museum.
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| BEIT AL QURAN | ||||
Beit Al Qur'an (Arabic: بيت القرآن)
means House of Qur'an in Arabic. It is an Islamic museum at Hoora,
Manama, in Bahrain, which is an island country in the Persian Gulf.
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The
House of the Qur'an was built to accommodate a comprehensive and
valuable collection of the Qur'an and rare manuscripts, a concept which
is unique in the Persian Gulf. All visitors are welcome, and the complex
comprises a mosque, a library, an auditorium, a school and museum
consisting of ten exhibition halls.This great institution and its museum
house an internationally celebrated collection of historic Quranic
manuscripts from various parts of the Islamic world, from China in the
East to Spain in the West, representing a progression of calligraphic
traditions from the first century of the Islamic era to the present day.
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Beit
Al Qur’an is made up of five main parts, the first and most important
being the majlis, or ‘gathering place’, the Abdul Rahman Jassim Kanoo
mosque, able to accommodate 150 worshippers. A large, specially
commissioned stained glass dome covers the mosque and grand hall. The
mihrab, the niche indicating the direction of Mecca, is covered in blue
ceramic tiles with engraved Al Qursi Qur’anic verse, made for Beit Al
Qur’an in Turkey.
The second part is the library, containing more than 20,000 books and manuscripts in three languages – Arabic, English and French – the majority of which are on Islam. The institute also specialises in Islamic art and many of its reference books are of international importance. The library and its reading rooms are open to the public during working hours, as are individual rooms for researchers and specialists. |
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| DILMUN BURIAL MOUNDS | ||||
The
Dilmun Burial Mounds is a necropolis in Bahrain dating back to the
Dilmun era. A Danish group was excavating the capital city of the Bronze
Age when they opened some tumuli and discovered items dating to around
4100 - 3700 BP of the same culture. Many others began to excavate more
of the graves, providing us with a view of the construction and content
on these graves. 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. Size of the mounds varies, but the majority of them measure 15
by 30 ft (4.5 by 9 m) in diameter and are 3-6 ft (1-2 m) high. The
smaller mounds usually contain only one chamber. The chambers are
usually rectangular with one or two alcoves at the northeast end.
Occasionally there are additional pairs of alcoves along the middle of
the larger chambers. Although the chambers usually contained one burial
each, some contain several people and the secondary chambers often
contain none. The deceased were generally laid with their head in the
alcove end of the chamber and laying on their right side. The bodies
were accompanied by few items. There were a few pieces of pottery and
occasionally shell or stone stamp seals, baskets sealed with asphalt,
ivory objects, stone jars, and copper weapons. The skeletons are
representative of both sexes with a life expectancy of approximately 40
years.
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Attempts
to protect the burial mounds have run into opposition by religious
fundamentalists who consider them unIslamic and have called for them to
be concreted over for housing. During a parliamentary debate on 17 July
2005, the leader of the salafist Asalah party, Sheikh Adel Mouwdah, said
"Housing for the living is better than the graves for the dead. We must
have pride in our Islamic roots and not some ancient civilisation from
another place and time, which has only given us a jar here and a bone
there."
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| AL DAR ISLANDS | ||||
Central
to life in Bahrain for centuries, pearl diving has to be the
quintessential Bahraini experience. The beach resort of Al Dar Island
offers regular pearl dives and cruises to Jarada Island where you might
find yourself sunbathing on the spit of white sand and bobbing in its
clear waters all on your own. In addition to pearls, you can also get
the chance to see up to 30 types of coral and more than 200 species of
fish. Dolphin watching along the many surrounding coral reefs is another
popular pastime and they are best spotted at sunrise or sunset.
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A day excursion to the pearl reefs is a lot of fun.
Take a dhow trip for an even more authentic experience. You can order
Arabic food and pearldivers will regale you with their tales of the
high-seas. For the wildlife enthusiast, a 45-minute ferry ride from Al
Dur Jetty to Hawar Island is a must. The Hawar Islands are renowned as a
wildlife preserve of international significance and offer a pristine
beach and a chance to spot dolphins and rare birds thanks to their
position in the middle of their migratory path.Contact:
Dar Island: +973 - 17704600 Hawar Islands: +973 - 17290377 Dhow trips: +973 - 17725490 |
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| SCUBA DIVING | ||||
Scuba diving
("scuba" originally being an acronym for Self Contained Underwater
Breathing Apparatus, although now widely considered a word in its own
right) is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set
to breathe underwater for recreation, commercial or industrial reasons.
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Unlike
early diving, which relied exclusively on air pumped from the surface,
scuba divers carry their own source of breathing gas (usually compressed
air), allowing them greater freedom than with an air line. Both surface
supplied and scuba diving allow divers to stay underwater significantly
longer than with breath-holding techniques as used in snorkelling and
free-diving. According to the purpose of the dive, a diver usually moves
underwater by swimfins attached to his feet, but external propulsion
can come from an underwater vehicle, or a sled pulled from the surface.
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| FIRST OIL WELL | ||||
As its name suggests, it is the first oil well in the Persian Gulf
and is located in Bahrain. Oil first spurted from this well on 16
October 1931, and the well finally began to blow heads of oil on the
morning of 2 June 1932, to much celebration on the part of those
involved in the project.
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The
initial oil flow rate was 400 barrels per hour. The well is situated
below Jebel Dukhan, dubbed the Mountain of Smoke, which, at a height of
134 m (450 ft), is the highest point of the island. Its name comes from
the misty haze, which frequently surrounds it on a hot and humid day.
Bahrain was the first place on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf
where oil was discovered. It couldn't have come at a better time for
Bahrain as it roughly coincided with the collapse of the world pearl
market.
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| KING FAHD CAUSEWAY (SAUDI CAUSEWAY) | ||||
The King Fahd Causeway (Arabic: جسر الملك فهد)
is a causeway connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Construction started
during 1968 and continued until 1986, when it was officially opened to
the public.
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The
project cost a total of US$1.2 billion (SAR3 billion). One of the major
contractors of the project is Ballast Nedam Group, based in the
Netherlands. The four-lane road is 28 km (17 mi) long and approximately
23 m (75 ft) wide, and was built using 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) of
concrete along with 47,000 metric tonnes of reinforced steel. The
causeway is constructed in three segments starting from Saudi Arabia:
1. From Khobar to the Saudi-Bahrain border 2. From the border to Nasan Island, Bahrain 3. From the Nasan island to the main island of Bahrain |
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| RIFFA FORT | ||||
Built by Sh.Salman Bin Ahmed ( al fateh) Al Khalifa, in 1812, Riffa Fort or (Arabic: قلعة الرفاع; transliterated: Qal'at ar-Rifa')
it is now named ( Sh.Salman bin Ahmed Fort) , in the Kingdom of Bahrain
offers a splendid view across the Hunanaiya valley. With Riffa being
home to the seat of government until 1869, this fort was strategically
important in its day. Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, the present Amir's
great great-grandfather, ruled Bahrain from 1869 to 1932. His house in
Muharraq provides a glimpse of royal life in the 19th century, complete
with architecture and wall carvings belonging to that era.
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| TREE OF LIFE | ||||
The Tree of Life (Arabic: شجرة الحياة; transliterated: Shajarat al-Hayah)
is a 100+year old mesquite tree in Bahrain that is considered a natural
wonder and one of the mysteries of world which is bound to be in your
sightseeing list while in this Middle Eastern country. The Tree of Life
in Bahrain is four century old mesquite tree which survives in the midst
of desert. The mystery of the survival of the tree has made it a
legend. People from all over the Middle East and the world make it a
point to visit this place to see this magic of nature. The name “tree of
life” is absolutely appropriate for the tree as it truly represents the
magic of life.
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The Tree of Life
in Bahrain is A legend is also attached to the site where the tree is
located. The local inhabitants believe with heart and soul that this was
the actual location of the Garden of Eden. The Tree of Life of Bahrain
is located 1.2 miles or 2 kilometers away from Jebel Dukhan.
The tree stands all alone in the heart of desert and from far away it
looks like a green spot in the white desert. While going to this place
extra caution should be taken to avoid your car from getting stuck in
the sand. There are very less habitation near this place as this is in
the midst of the desert.
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| AL AREEN WILD LIFE PARK | ||||
This
wildlife park was the brainchild of His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Isa
bin Sulman Al-Khalifa, The Crown Prince of Bahrain. It is divided into
two parts, one of which is open to the public. The reserve area is
off-limits without special permission. Access to the park is by bus from
the main entrance. This takes parties around a tarmac road from which
you are able to obtain good views of a variey of Arabian mammals, some
roaming free and others in pens.
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There
are also some African animals which remain from the initial
establishment of the park. Arabian species include scimitar-horned oryx,
addax, Arabian oryx, dama gazelle, Nubian ibex, wild goat, barbary
sheep and Asiatic onager. Wild bird species are also attracted to the
park. Near to the administrative building is a walkway which gives close
views of various species of bird and animal. There are cafeteria
facilities here. The park is opened daily from 8 -11.00 a.m. and 1-4.30
p.m. More information may be obtained from the park office: +973-17631826.
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| BAHRAIN OIL MUSEUM | ||||
Built
in 1992, Bahrain oil museum is one of the significant tourist
attractions in the island of Bahrain. It small but very interesting
museum that tells a lot about the story of the black gold industry in
Bahrain as well as the history of that era. It was build to commemorate
the 60th anniversary of the first discovery of oil in the island of
Bahrain. The oil museum is a long way out of the busy town, in the midst
of the oil fields. Actually , it is situated only few meters from the first oil well
in Sakhir which was discovered back in 1932. The oil museum exhibits
old photographs, drilling equipment and a working model of an oil rig. A
visit to the place is both informative and amusing.
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THEME PARKS in BAHRAIN
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