It can’t vie with the glitz and glamour of neighbouring Dubai and Qatar, but the tiny island nation of Bahrain has a rich history, and in recent years a clutch of fine museums has sprung up to preserve its heritage.
Hidden away in pockets of traditional architecture amid the urban sprawl, they make for a rewarding few days’ exploration, says George Kipouros in Wanderlust – and, for the curious, there are other more active ways to engage with local culture, from concerts of the local traditional music to lessons in pearl diving, once the island’s main industry.
Bahrain means two seas in Arabic, perhaps a reference to the submarine freshwater springs where the world’s best oyster beds are found.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From the fourth to the first millennium BC, Bahrain lay at the heart of a civilisation that experts believe was Dilmun, the trading nation referred to in ancient Mesopotamian texts. Deep in the island’s heart lies a huge desert field of burial mounds, which form the world’s largest ancient necropolis.
Many of the treasures found there are displayed in the new National and Qala’at al-Bahrain museums. These include finely carved soapstone seals, and also votive offerings of pearls, and dead snakes, suggesting a ritual that may have been linked to the myth of Gilgamesh, which was a model for the Biblical story of Eden.
In the myth, Dilmun is as a paradise where Gilgamesh finds the flower of immortality in a freshwater sea, only to have it stolen by a serpent. Experts suggest the “flower” was a pearl: Gilgamesh recovers it like a pearl diver, with stones tied to his feet.
In the old town of Muharraq, a trail called the Pearling Path connects a series of fine 19th-century buildings, including elaborate pearl merchants’ mansions. Among them are a dozen or so charming small museums, galleries and concert halls overseen by the Sheikh Ebrahim Centre for Culture, which celebrate the island’s contemporary arts and traditional culture.
See pearldiving.bh for information on pearl-diving trips
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
Diane Keaton: the Oscar-winning star of Annie HallIn the Spotlight Something’s Gotta Give actor dies from pneumonia at the age of 79
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobilityThe Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courtsFeature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlightFeature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little goldFeature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider WomanFeature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
