Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of international trade and, in more recent times, by the earliest discovery of oil in the re-
gion. This latter fact enabled Bahrain to engage in an international dialogue well before its
neighbours, and as such helped in developing a sense of greater affinity with Western na-
tions, as well as a tolerance and even acceptance of many (and some would argue not alto-
gether the best) Western practices. Even a one-time visitor cannot fail to notice the many
bars serving alcohol, the largely unchecked social freedoms and the general party atmo-
sphere that engages the streets of Manama.
Naturally enough, a greater degree of conservatism prevails outside the capital area, but
this is still not the land of the censorious: on the far-flung Al-Jazayer Beach, there is a no-
tice that asks the beachgoer to be quiet out of respect for visitors wishing to escape the
noise of the city. In a beach hut, not 5m away and with the door shut against the wind, the
fully amplified, Afro-Arabic beat of an ad-hoc jam session bulges against the surrounding
austerity of the desert. It speaks volumes.
Lifestyle
It's the prerogative of the inhabitants of busy seaports to select from the 'customs and
manners' that wash up on the shore. Watching young Bahraini men on the nightclub floor
in one of Manama's central hotels, for example, sporting a crisp white
thobe
(floor-length
shirt-dress) or the international uniform of jeans and leather jacket, a visitor could be for-
given for thinking that the young have sold out to the West. These same young men,
however, would probably have been to the barber, aged three to six years old, one auspi-
cious Monday, Thursday or Friday in spring, and come out clutching their coins - and
loins. These same young men will no doubt send their sons on similar rituals of circum-
cision and maturation, because beneath the urbane exterior, the sweet waters of the island
run deep.
As for Bahraini women, while Islam requires surrender to the will of God, it does not
imply surrender to the will of man. Bahraini women take their place in many walks of
public life, and, as such, 'surrender' is the last word that comes to mind. Only an outsider
considers it contradictory that women who choose to cover their hair in the presence of
men should at the same time give them instructions on all matters of life, cardinal and pro-
fane.
Bahraini people have enjoyed the spoils of oil for over half a century and it's tempting
to think wealth has created a nation of idlers; you won't see many Bahrainis engaged in
manual labour, for example, nor waiting on tables. But a modern, enterprising, wealthy
nation isn't built on money alone, and the burgeoning financial sector is proof that the loc-
als have chosen to invest their energies and creativity in their traditional trading strengths
while importing labour for the jobs they no longer need to do themselves.
