Bahrain -A Short Visit

It was Christmas of 2015 when I had a visit in Bahrain. It is an Arab country, so I do not really expect to have a feel of the Yuletide season, but a change of surroundings have made me decided to spend a short holiday there. Though it is an Arab nation, it doesn’t have a strict implementation of Islamic laws to its non-Muslim community. However, it is necessary to show respect and courtesy with regards to their religion and culture by dressing appropriately in public places.

Kingdom of Bahrain is the smallest country in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) consisting of several islands, with Bahrain island as the largest. It is a country situated on the western part of the Persian Gulf, with KSA on its west and Qatar lies southeast.

GETTING IN

Since I am a resident of a GCC country for more than 6 months, I am eligible to get a visa upon arrival to Bahrain. After paying a certain fee at the airport, my passport was stamped for a 3-month multiple entry visa, with 2 weeks maximum stay per visit. An e-visa can also be applied before entry by citizens of specific countries, while GCC nationals are granted with visa exemption. Click here for visa information

GETTING AROUND

When we arrived at the airport, we immediately rented a car for our convenience. The price was affordable with a Chevrolet Aveo car costing 10 dinar per day with unlimited mileage. A valid driver’s license was just presented, and a separate ID card was secured by the car rental agency. We do not have a GPS on hand, we just got a tourist map from the airport’s arrival area and that was it! Bahrain is just a small country and the road signs were in English, so driving wasn’t really difficult.
Taxis are also available and are metered. However, the rates are high and the scarcity of it would waste your time and will lose your freedom to go wherever you want. Renting a car is recommended when visiting the country as it will maximize the time you have and the places you could enjoy.

WHERE TO STAY

We haven’t anticipated that hotels were fully booked when we came. The thought that Arabs aren’t celebrating Christmas have made us decide just to search for a hotel when we will arrive in Manama, the capital city. Then suddenly we have realized that an Islamic holiday was declared, so many are coming to the country to spend the long weekend. It took us a hard time to get a place to stay for the whole period. If is not expensive, others would require only a family or a married couple. Until we have encountered a man who instructed us to search in Juffair area, around 10 km from the airport. Luckily, we got one with a very good location near the commercial road (Al Shabab Avenue), where the restaurants are just side by side. Many foreigners were also staying in the area so we felt more comfortable with the place.

DRIVING AROUND

Since we have rented a car, we were able to stroll around the country in just a day. Yeah, you read it right; now you could picture out the land area of the place. Though we haven’t reached its famous artificial island, Durrat al Bahrain, which is located on the southernmost part, it is still possible to get there if desired, since its distance from the airport is just approximately 65 km.

Driving around with only a map on hand, we have reached our destinations. We do seldom ask for directions if we felt like we’re just going back and forth. Getting lost is part of the excitement, though. But, we were never really lost. It’s just that, there were places of interest that could not be properly identified due to lack of signage.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Al Fateh Grand Mosque

It is the largest mosque in Bahrain built in 1990 which also houses the National Library. A black cloak and a headscarf are given to women which are required to be worn allowing entry to the prayer hall.

Al Areen Wildlife Park

It is a conservation area as well as a zoological park built in 1976 covering an area of 7 km sq. It was established in response to the country’s goal of safeguarding the population of several species of plants and animals, especially those native to Bahrain. The park is open daily from 9am to 4pm with an entrance fee of 1 BD and free for children under 2 years of age. This is an exciting place to visit especially for children where they could learn and get acquainted with several species of plants, birds, and wild animals.

Bahrain-National-Museum

This is the best place to start understanding the country’s history, religion, and heritage. It houses several archaeological artifacts which will bring you to a journey back to the ancient civilization of Dilmun.

Bahrain International Circuit

It is the facility where motorsports are held such as drag race, GP2, and the famous Bahrain Grand Prix, an annual Formula One Championship race.

Bab-Al-Bahrain

It is a historical building which was originally situated along the shore; however due to extensive reclamation, it was moved away from the water’s edge. The structure remains the gateway to Manama souq (marketplace) where tourists usually shop for souvenirs and other goods at a bargain price.

King-Fahd-Causeway

A long bridge connecting Bahrain to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tree Of Life

It is a very old Prosopis cineraria tree, approximately 400 years old, located in a deserted place 50 km away from the airport. It took as some time to get there because we don’t have any idea how the tree looks like and there are a few trees along the way. But thanks for the signboards we were able to find it. The tree stands around 32 feet tall with an abundance of green leaves, has a wide trunk, and branches touching the ground. It is located at the middle of the desert where its survival remains a question to many since there is no apparent source of water for it to survive for centuries. However, this specie of tree is known to adapt to an extremely arid environments and its root system could reach as deep as 50 meters from the surface. Recently, the archaeologists uncovered artifacts recorded to have exist during the time of the ancient Dilmun Civilization.