Bahrain’s most famous landmarks pictured through my SUV’s rear view mirror from the Busaiteen coast . The two most ‘photogenic’ structures in the country – Bahrain Financial Harbour and the Bahrain World Trade Centre – are also the most architecturally pleasing, designed with considerable thought on how to take advantage of what the nation has in abundance – wind and sunlight!
When I first came to Bahrain, a friend took me to Central Manama. I could have sworn I never left India, so much was the ‘Indianness’ in the place. More than a decade later, I return often to what is the old Suq and each time am in awe of the fact that in some areas, there is not a single Arab, let alone a Bahraini. But as I looked closely at this photograph taken today, I saw there is not a single non-Indian in the frame. One can see Malayalis, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Sikhs and Tamilians. Look closely and all shop signs are Indian, with the most prominent Arabic sign telling people not to park in the area.
It actually resembles Delhi’s Karol Bagh or Hall Bazar in Amritsar or even Ahmedabad’s Teen Darwaza so if one misses India terribly, one can only drive down to the suq.
A Bahraini man shows off an oyster shell with pearls inside
Natural pearls in their purest form
Piles of empty oyster shells lie on the Sitra coast in Bahrain. Oysters are now ‘harvested’ by amateur fishermen who then pry open the shells to look for natural pearls. Though it is extremely rare these are found, sometimes someone does get lucky.
Pearling, known to have occurred since 2000 BC, and once the mainstay of the country’s economy, has now vanished but there are serious government attempts to revive the trade.
Oyster shells are left in piles on the coast after the ‘harvest’
Bahrain’s ancient pearling trail, a 3.5 km ‘pathway’ located in the island of Muharraq, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since June last year. Divers used it during much of Bahrain’s history until the early 1930s, as the market crashed when cultured pearls from Japan became popular.
The pathway consists of 17 buildings in Murharraq, three oyster beds in the nearby sea, a part of the seafront and the Bu Mahir (Arad) fortress on the island’s southern tip.
The Culture Ministry is also setting up plans to make the pearling trail a major tourist attraction.
It’s yet another dull, dreary and hazy day in Bahrain today, one of many that will happen until the end of the month. It is said of Bahrain there are five seasons every day in this island nation with the weather changing as many times during a 24-hour period. However, that is true mainly for the cold and windy winter months and not for the summer when the only two seasons are ‘hot’ and ‘very hot’.
This run down fishing dhow lies at the Muharraq coast, perhaps reminiscing on the days when it proudly ruled the seas off Bahrain. Most fishing is now done on modern boats and dhows made of steel, aluminium and fibre. Some traditional wood and straw vessels are still afloat but these are mostly used for ceremonial occasions and for visiting tourists to see and experience. Craftsmen who created these masterpieces with their bare hands failed to pass on their skills not because they did not want to but because modern technology took over their trade.
MANDEEPSINGS 