Trips to Bahrain in 1997 and 1998
I have worked in Bahrain four times so far with stays there ranging from 4 days to 4 weeks and I have also traveled through there and stayed in Manama several times on my way to Oman. Don’t go looking for your globe, Bahrain is in the Persian Gulf east of Saudi Arabia and west of Qatar. Across the Gulf to the north is Iran. Because of its location, it has long been an important trading spot in the Persian Gulf area.
When I was working in and travelling through Bahrain in the last 1990s, Bahrain was known as the “Las Vegas of the Middle East”. In every bar and restaurant were Europeans, Americans, Saudis, Indians and US Navy people. Now it seems like Dubai is the vacation playground, but never pass up an opportunity top go to Bahrain!
The Kingdom of Bahrain is an Islamic country that is a very pleasant place to visit. The main city in Bahrain is Manama which is a very modern city. Bahrain is connected to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway, a very long bridge sitting low over the water.
We were working on a project with a bunch of Germans from Rohde & Schwarz which was quite an experience in itself. Worked with Jurgen Koppitz and Albert Mack (that’s
Mr. Mack to you!)
Click on any photo to see a larger view
View of the beautiful Grand Mosque from my room in the Gulf Hotel in Manama. This large mosque is next to the sea and surrounded by hundreds of palm trees.
When you have been in a place long enough to have to get a driver’s license, you have been there way too long. I had to get the Bahrain drivers license before the rental car company would rent me a car. So, the rental car company let me drive the car around for free with no paperwork until I had a proper Bahraini drivers license. Bahrainis are very nice and very trusting. Or maybe since we were on an island, they knew I could not go too far!
By the way, I learned in drivers’ education that in Bahrain you are not supposed to leave the scene of a traffic accident. Well next time we won’t …
On the way to/from work each day, it was not unusual to see camels in the road, crossing the road, beside the road, etc. They did not seem to be too concerned by car traffic.
Some camels run wild but I think that most of them are owned by someone and herded like cattle. There are just no fences around so speeding tourists must watch out.
I learned how to navigate the roundabouts – probably here because of Brit influence. I was lucky that Bahrain had the common sense to drive on the right side of the road or I might have lost my new license
Yet more camel pictures, seems like every day I had to stop and get a picture
In Manama there are date trees planted beside many of the roads and walkways. I could see strollers walk by and grab a handful of dates to eat as they walked. I tried them but never developed a taste for this free food.
One of the most popular walks in Manama is beside the waterfront so you could see the Gulf and eat your dinner at the same time.
