Bahrain

Sorry I've been away from the BLOG for so long. I wasn't able to post for a while. Last month someone suggested I give you more information about the Kingdom of Bahrain, where my ship is homeported in the Arabian Gulf.

Welcome, or "Ahlan wa-sahlan" to Bahrain! Here are some details about the country along with links. To open the links in a new window, hold your shift key as you click them. Try this one: Wikipedia Bahrain.

Here's a satellite picture of the main island of the kingdom. It's approximately 700 square kilometers (about 3.5 times the size of Washington DC) and lies just off the east coast of Saudi Arabia at a latitude of 26 degrees north. Look at the interesting satellite images of the Arabian Gulf from this site.


The capital city of Bahrain is Manama, where I am stationed. Over 700,000 people live here. The main languages spoken are Arabic, English, and Farsi. Many British "expats" live here since the country was a protectorate of the UK until 1971. The main religion is Islam. The currency is the Bahraini Dinar, one of which is worth about $2.70.

We're three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, eight hours ahead of the east coast of the USA during the winter, so when it's 8:00am in New York, it's 4:00pm here. Check this site for our current time. As for weather, it was very hot and humid (over 110) in the summer when I arrived. Temperatures have cooled down since then, but winters are still mild (80s and 90s). It hasn't rained since I got here. Check Intellicast for our current weather.

There is a Naval Support Activity based here, which is a great help. The local English newspapers are the Bahrain Tribune and the Gulf Daily News. Click here to hear the National Anthem in Real Media from the BBC.

Here are some links to more information on Bahrain from the CIA World Factbook, Arab.net, Bahrain Tourism, and the Bahraini Government (Click the Arabic button in the top right hand corner of the site to see it in Arabic),

And now, some of my pictures of Bahrain...

Downtown Bahrain, a mixture of modern and traditional.


Gold City, where they sell 18 to 28 karat gold jewlery by the weight.


The inside of Gold City.


Some of the necklaces for sale.


Typical gold jewlery.


The Souq or traditional market downtown.


Material for sale at the Souq.


Glass beads on display.


Wanna buy a Watch? Yes, I bought the fake Rolex...


Mosque near the Souq.


At sea at sunset.