Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HERITAGE PATHWAY IN MUHARRAQ
A 3.5km pedestrian 'pearling pathway', tipped for Unesco world heritage status, is being built by the Ministry of
Culture to link some of the top sites across Muharrq Island and to offer insights into Bahrain's pearling heritage.
Parts of that pathway have now been completed in the labyrinthine alleyways of central Muharraq. From an un-
promising opening next to Latifa Laundry (alongside Beit Seyadi), Lane 917 leads past renovated buildings, en-
plein-air art, an urban water feature and craft workshops. Don't miss the following:
»
Sheikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research
( 17 322 549;
9am-1pm & 4-7pm) Inspired by the early-20th-century intellectual of the same name, it hosts recitals,
lectures and exhibitions every Monday evening. At other times it delivers a synopsis of Bahrain's history and her-
itage through the pages of a giant electronic book: a mere wave of the hand turns the pages on Dilmun, pearling
and the Tree of Life. One page reads: 'Like gold our talents are precious', which is a fitting expression of all the
arts works on display along the pearling pathway.
»
Abdullah Al-Zayed House
Dedicated to the country's press heritage with an old typewriter and a
copy of Bahrain's first newspaper on display.
»
Al-Korar House
The gathering point for Muharraq craftswomen intent on preserving the craft of gold-
thread weaving. Three generations of a local Muharraq family have saved the art of
al-korar
from extinction.
Once, the intricate golden thread work was the occupation of all resident women; now only a handful of people
know how to weave the elaborate braid that once adorned all Bahraini ceremonial gowns. All works the ladies
make in this house are sold before they are even made so you will have to be lucky to see one of the finished,
gossamer-thin gowns.
»
Saffron 2
( 9am-noon & 5-8pm) Keeping the ancient art of conversation alive over the sale of excellent
coffee and bakes, this new coffeeshop is set in a beautifully restored old house, next to Al-Korar House.
None of these enterprises has quite filled the boots of their splendid venues yet, but they are a sign that the culture
of 'out with the old and in with the new' has run its course at last as architects and interior designers find inspira-
tional ways of making the past relevant to modern generations. Check the Ministry website (
ht-
tp://www.moc.gov.bh/en
)
for updates on this path of progress.
Sights
Beit Sheikh Isa Bin Ali
HISTORIC BUILDING
( 17 293 820; Central Muharraq; admission 400 fils; 8am-6pm)
Offering a fascinating look at pre-
oil life in Bahrain, Beit Sheikh Isa Bin Ali was built around 1800. The chief sitting room
downstairs was kept cool in summer by the down draft from the wind tower, the shutters
on which could be closed in winter. There is some fine gypsum and woodcarving
throughout the house. While the rooms are bare, the different sections of the house are
well captioned in English and a good half-hour could be spent rambling up and down the
different staircases.
