January 21: Bahrain
Today's stop was
Manama, the capital of the country of
Bahrain. Bahrain is located on islands just off Saudi Arabia. Although Bahrain is in on the oil boom, Manama is not nearly as large or spectacular as Dubai or Doha. Also, unlike the other countries we visited, Bahrain was the home of some significant ancient civilizations.
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| Part of the skyline of Manama |
As we did in Doha, we hired a private guide to give us a tour of Bahrain. Our first stop was the
Al Fateh Grand Mosque, which, while impressive in size, is only about 1/4 the size of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque that we visited in Abu Dhabi. By this time, we had seen so many mosques on the trip, we decided to just stick to the exterior, and didn't go in.
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| Al Fateh Grand Mosque |
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| Entryway to the mosque |
Most of the new construction in Manama is on the outskirts of town, and our guide took us to see some of the more unusual buildings.
We then went to the center of Manama to the
souq.
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| A square next to the Souq. Yes, that's the Colonel. |
Here are some scenes from the Souq.
Midway through our walk through the souq, our guide asked us if we wanted to see the synagogue. I was unaware that there was even a synagogue in Bahrain, so we took him up on his offer and led us to the building below, which had absolutely no markings or other indications as to what it was. I later confirmed that it was the only
synagogue in the Persian Gulf, although it is rarely actually used.
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| The synagogue |
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| Stopping for tea in the souq. |
Our next stop was the border with Saudi Arabia. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are connected by the
King Fahd Causeway. The causeway is about 16 miles long.
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| A mall on the outskirts of Manama |
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| On the causeway |
The actual border between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is on an island in the middle of the causeway.
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| Traffic backed up at the border |
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| At the border |
Unfortunately, it's very difficult for citizens of Western nations to get into Saudi Arabia--a visa and lots of paperwork are required. So, we were forced to settle for just a picture at the border.
Which didn't prevent me from sticking my foot through the fence into Saudi Arabia. (I still don't count it as a country I have visited).
From the causeway we headed to the Royal Camel Farm.
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| Typical Bahrain housing |
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| Oil pipelines between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain |
The
Dilmun culture occupied parts of what is now Bahrain from about 2500 BC to 800 BC. Dilmun burial mounds are scattered in various places in Bahrain.
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| The "hills" in the foreground are Dilmun burial mounds |
Our final stop was the
Bahrain National Theater and the
Bahrain National Museum.
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| Bahrain National Theater |
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| Front of the National Museum |
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| Grave from a Dilmun burial mound in the National Museum |
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| Nighttime view of Manama |
Next: Days 7-10 -- Muscat and Khasab, Oman
