Manama

The islands of Bahrain sit in the Persian Gulf on a shallow shelf, with fresh water bubbling from springs under the sea and the land, a rare thing in the region. That water made settlement possible from early times. In the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC, Bahrain was the heart of Dilmun, a trading civilisation that linked Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Sumerian texts describe Dilmun as a sacred and prosperous place, and its capital is believed to lie under the mound now known as Qal'at al-Bahrain on the north coast. Tens of thousands of burial mounds, some of the densest in the world, cover the island's interior and speak of a large population.

Later ages brought other rulers. The islands were part of Persian and Arab domains, and Islam arrived in the 7th century. The Portuguese took control in 1521 and built or rebuilt forts, including the one at Qal'at al-Bahrain, but were expelled in 1602. Persian rule followed. In 1783 the Al Khalifa family, from the Arabian mainland, took the islands, and the family has ruled since.

Britain signed a series of treaties with the rulers of Bahrain from 1820, and the islands became a protectorate in the 19th century. British advisers, notably Sir Charles Belgrave, who worked for the ruler from 1926 to 1957, helped set up modern administration, and Bahrain became the base of British interests in the Gulf. In 1932 the discovery of oil, the first on the Arab side of the Gulf, funded roads, schools, hospitals and a new port.

Independence came on 15 August 1971, and the country marks its national day on 16 December. Bahrain became a kingdom in 2002 and has since developed as a financial and services hub, with banks, aluminium, an international circuit and, more recently, a growing tourism sector. The state has been marked by periodic political tension, including unrest in 2011, and visitors should check their government's advice.

For a traveller, history is easy to see. Qal'at al-Bahrain and the National Museum tell the Dilmun story, Beit Al Quran and the mosques the Islamic story, and the Pearling Path in Muharraq the story of the trade that made the islands rich before oil. Bab Al Bahrain, from 1945, stands where the sea once reached and marks the start of modern Manama.

Before oil, Bahrain lived on pearls. The oyster beds off its coast produced natural pearls of high quality, and for centuries the trade employed thousands of men, drew merchants from across the Gulf and India, and made Muharraq and Manama wealthy. By the early 20th century, pearling supplied most of the islands' income.

The work was hard and dangerous. Boats called dhows sailed out for the season, from about June to September, and divers, called ghawwas, went down without equipment other than a nose clip and a stone to sink them, holding their breath for a minute or more. A rope handler, the sayyib, pulled them up. Divers often worked in debt to boat captains and merchants, and many suffered from illness and injury. The season was shaped by songs, rules and a system of credit that tied families to the trade.

The trade collapsed in the 1930s. Cultured pearls, developed in Japan, flooded the market at lower prices, and the Great Depression cut demand for luxury goods. Merchants lost fortunes, and many divers turned to the new oil industry and shipbuilding. Oil replaced pearls as the economic base, and the memory of pearling became part of national identity.

That memory is preserved on the Pearling Path, a UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 2012 as 'Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy'. It is a route through the old lanes of Muharraq linking merchants' houses, shops, warehouses and a fort, with three oyster beds and part of the seashore in the wider site. Siyadi House, the house of a pearl merchant family, is one of the best-known stops, with carved wooden doors, coral-stone walls and a wind tower for cooling.

On a visit, walk the path in the cool of the morning and go slowly. Notice how the houses face inward around courtyards, how wind towers catch the breeze and how narrow lanes create shade. Stop for Arabic coffee and halwa in a family shop. If you want to buy pearls, remember that natural pearls are costly and rare, while many pearls sold today are cultured or imitation. Ask for a certificate from a recognised testing laboratory and compare two shops before you decide. And if you have time, the National Museum's pearling galleries put the whole trade in one room.

Manama has been transformed in a generation. Until the 1970s it was a low, dense town hugging a small harbour, with the sea lapping at the wall of the old souq. Since then land reclamation has pushed the shoreline outwards by kilometres, and today the old core sits inland with towers, highways and a financial district between it and the water. The Bahrain World Trade Center, with its three wind turbines, and the Bahrain Financial Harbour are the best-known landmarks of the new skyline.

The old core survives around Bab Al Bahrain. The gate, completed in 1945, was built as an entrance from the sea into the old town, and behind it lies Manama Souq, a tangle of lanes selling spices, dates, textiles, perfume, oud, gold and pearls. Government Avenue runs beside the gate with traditional cafés, and small hotels sit on the surrounding streets. This is the part of Manama where you can walk, ideally between 08:00 and 10:30, or after sunset.

South of the old core, Adliya is the district of galleries, cafés and international restaurants, centred on Block 338. It began as a residential area with old houses and became the centre of the city's arts and social life, with licensed restaurants and bars. East along the coast, Hoora holds the National Museum and Beit Al Quran, and Juffair has the Al Fateh Grand Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the Gulf when it opened in 1988, and a cluster of hotels and malls.

Malls are part of daily life. City Centre Bahrain, Seef and the Avenues serve as shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants and cool places to walk in the heat. For a visitor they are practical shelter from the afternoon sun, and for many residents they are the main public space.

Getting around means cars. Roads are wide, distances between clusters are long for walking, and heat and traffic discourage it for much of the year. Ride-hailing gives fixed fares, and licensed taxis should use the meter. Public buses exist but are slow. Muharraq, home of the airport and the Pearling Path, is a separate island joined to Manama by causeways, and at rush hour the crossing can take much longer than the 15 to 20 minutes it does at other times. Plan your days by cluster, not by distance on the map.

Bahrain is a Muslim country, with a Shia majority among its citizens and a Sunni ruling family. The two communities live side by side, though their politics and history are often contested. The calendar shows it: the two Eids are public holidays for everyone, and Ashura, the mourning for Imam Hussein on the 10th of Muharram, sees large Shia processions and gatherings in Manama and nearby villages. For a visitor, the rule is respect: do not photograph or block processions, follow road closures and leave the area if a crowd forms.

Around half of Bahrain's residents are foreign workers and their families, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Egypt and elsewhere, as well as Arabs from other countries and Westerners. English is widely used in business and shops, and Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog are heard on the street. The result is a city that is more relaxed than most in the Gulf, and yet has clear expectations of dress and behaviour.

Dress is modest but not strict. In the souq, mosques and public places, cover shoulders and knees. Men rarely wear shorts outside sport or the beach, and women often wear loose long clothing, though many local women wear a black abaya and headscarf and others do not. Swimwear belongs at the beach, pool or hotel. When entering a mosque, remove shoes, women cover their hair, and everyone dresses in long sleeves and trousers or a skirt.

Alcohol is available in licensed hotels and restaurants, mainly in Adliya, Juffair and the waterfront, and it is not for sale in ordinary cafés. Drinking in public is not allowed and the drink-drive limit is zero. Ramadan changes the rhythm: do not eat, drink or smoke in public in daylight, expect shorter opening hours, and enjoy the lively evenings, when families gather and restaurants serve iftar and suhoor.

A few practical courtesies help. Greet with assalaamu alaikum, use the right hand to give and receive, accept the first cup of Arabic coffee and shake the cup gently to say enough. Ask before photographing people, especially women, and never photograph government buildings, royal palaces or military sites. Be respectful in conversation about politics and religion. Most people are welcoming, and a polite question usually gets a friendly answer.

Bahraini food sits between the Gulf, Persia and India, with rice, fish, dates, spices and sweets at the centre. The national dish is machboos, spiced rice cooked with chicken, lamb or fish, flavoured with dried lime, saffron, cardamom and turmeric, and served with a tomato sauce. It is a big, communal plate, and a lunch of machboos is the best single introduction to the cuisine.

Fish is central. The waters of the Gulf give grouper, called hamour, and rabbitfish, called safi, which are grilled, fried or cooked with rice. Muhammar is a sweet rice cooked with date syrup, often served with fried fish, and it is a dish that surprises visitors who expect only savoury food. Harees, a slow-cooked porridge of wheat and meat, is eaten in Ramadan, and whole roast lamb, ghuzi, appears at feasts.

Breakfast has its own tradition. Traditional cafés such as Haji's serve eggs, bean stew, flatbread and tea, and balaleet is a sweet vermicelli dish with saffron and cardamom topped with an omelette. Karak, a strong spiced milky tea, and Arabic coffee, lightly roasted and flavoured with cardamom, are the drinks that accompany everything. Coffee is poured into small cups and offered with dates.

Sweets are a proper subject. Bahraini halwa is a translucent, jelly-like sweet made from starch, sugar, ghee, saffron, rosewater and nuts, and it is bought in small boxes from family makers in the souq and in Muharraq. Taste before you buy, and take a small box because it is very rich.

Street food is cheap and good. Shawarma, falafel, grilled fish sandwiches and fresh juice are sold from counters in the souq. Adliya and the waterfront add international restaurants, cafés and licensed bars. Most food is halal, and pork is not served in mainstream restaurants, although some licensed venues in hotels and Adliya offer it. Vegetarians do well, with falafel, hummus, salads, eggs and beans. In Ramadan, many places close in daylight and reopen after sunset, when the streets fill and food is plentiful.

Manama is one of the easier Gulf capitals for a short stay, and a little planning makes it easier still. Start with the season. From November to March the weather is mild and clear, and you can walk in the morning and evening and sit outside. From June to September it is 40 degrees with humidity, and outdoor time belongs to the early morning and after sunset. Book hotels early for the Grand Prix weeks and Eid.

Check entry rules before you fly. Many nationalities receive a visa on arrival or an eVisa for short stays, and citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council enter with an ID. Bring a printed booking and a return ticket. The airport is on Muharraq island, about 15 to 30 minutes from central Manama by car, and ride-hailing cars and airport taxis wait outside arrivals.

Plan your days by cluster. A good day pairs the souq and Bab Al Bahrain at 08:00 with the National Museum and lunch, and keeps the evening for Adliya. Muharraq's Pearling Path is a morning of its own, and Qal'at al-Bahrain a half-day by car. Use ride-hailing between clusters; it gives a fixed fare and a record. Ask your hotel for a driver if you want a half-day tour.

Money and connections are simple. Cards and contactless payments work almost everywhere, and ATMs are common. Carry small dinar notes for the souq, tea stalls and tips. Buy a tourist SIM at the airport with your passport, and hotel Wi-Fi is fast.

Health and safety are straightforward. Drink bottled water if you prefer its taste, use sun protection, and carry insurance. Cross roads at signals, and remember that traffic is fast. Avoid demonstrations and processions, do not photograph government buildings or military sites, and check your government's travel advice before you go. Emergency services answer on 999.

Finally, leave slack at the end. Traffic on the causeways can turn a 20-minute ride into an hour at rush hour, and airport checks need time. Allow three hours before an international flight, and keep the last morning for something near the hotel. With that margin, Manama rewards a short stay with a morning of history, a good lunch, an evening in Adliya and a walk through the pearl houses of Muharraq.