While Abu Dhabi is definitely a very pleasant place to live, Bahrain has more cultural heritage – and it has done a lot to preserve it. The reversal of fortune between the two countries is actually stunning. Bahrain’s major lifeline today is Saudi tourism, after being the first country in the Gulf where oil was found. It’s rife with political unrest. On the other hand, the UAE are quickly becoming an international financial, industrial and logistics powerhouse. An uncharitable explanation for emirati’s “we want it bigger than everybody else” attitude is that the country is so young it has had no time to develop proper taste. I rather suspect that a more nuanced explanation can be found in the fact that in 1960, Bahrain was thriving – with and airline and an international airport, and there where no doctors in Abu Dhabi or Dubai…

Times have rolled around, but whatever it’s current circumstances, Bahrain has a lot to offer. Maybe not yet as an actual tourist destination, but at least to those who live there and take the time to look around.

One of our favorite week end jaunts, and a great treat for visitors, was a walk through the renovated quarter of Muharraq. A maze of small streets hides a few gems that are well worth the visit.

And if you want to see more, here is a link to my flickr set.

Modern Art in the Middle East

It is surprising what hidden treasures lie in some unlikely places in the Middle East. Bahrain’s restauration of the Muharraq old quarter is exemplary. Having grown to love this place over a few visits, I was extremely disappointed when I realized that Abu Dhabi offers nothing of the sort. But that’s a story for another post.

In the middle of Muharraq, in an old restored house, behind a very small and ornate door, lies a gem of a children’s library. A small, well appointed, very clean and crisp space, with hundreds of children’s books in arabic, english, french and german, at least …

In the middle of this space, an old open air patio has been closed by a skylight. Cushions and scandinavian style furniture make it the best place in the library for reading. And crowning all of it is this sculpture of a mother and two children.

The weird part, of course, is that i never saw anyone in this library, even though the door was always open. No librarian, no kids … Is it because I only visited on fridays? I hope so, I’d hate to think this gem was there for nothing.