Manama, Bahrain
The smallest country of the Gulf States and thus a limited number of sites to visit. However, one of the most spectacular forts in the region is here and is hugely impressive with its near complete walls and internal rooms that leaves a real Arabian Knights feel to the building. Funnily enough, it’s called the “Portuguese” fort by locals because …. it was built by them ! The central shopping Mall of exclusive shops with its iconic trade building representing the sails of an Arabic ship stand out and is seen from most areas. Manama’s business district of skyscrapers, side by side, contrast with the low buildings of the National Museum and National Theatre facing them across the waterway.
What to do in Manama, Bahrain
I flew to Bahrain as part of my 4 country, 5 cities trip to the Southern Gulf States, specifically to Muscat in Oman (click here), Dubai in U.A.E (click here), Abu Dhabi in U.A.E (click here) and Doha in Qatar (click here).
Manama was really interesting – picturesque Fort, stunning buildings, very walkable, cheap taxis, and an amazing Mall with Cartier, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Rolex, Dior, Burberry etc, etc. My hotel was virtually across the road from the famous twin sail-shaped World Trade centre and the, described above, Moda Shopping Mall.
Despite the intense heat I managed to walk to most places except the fort which was more out of town. Clearly everyone in Manama drives to wherever they want to go as I was often the only person walking in the heat along the pavement but a nice breeze off the sea kept me cool.
It was also part of the fun of being here as I walked into residential areas, among businessmen next to skyscrapers and saw into the streetside shops where the large population of foreign workers shop.
World Trade Centre, Manama.
This building, (click here for site info), is shaped like two 50 storey sails and has its own wind turbines generating eco-electricity. It houses prestigious companies and stands at the water edge with views across the Gulf. It has won numerous awards and has the famous and very high end Moda Mall underneath it.
Manama Moda Mall
The Moda Mall, (click here for web info), is full of exclusive international brands and clearly caters for wealthy residents. It however was eerily quiet. Opening from 10am-10pm and longer for restaurants there was plenty of time to go shopping there !
Bahrain National Museum
This museum, (click here for opening times etc), despite having a rather official looking entrance gateway, was housed in a very bland concrete block type building. Artwork had been placed outside but that also tended to be more ordinary concrete or stone sculptures that did not lend any colour to the approachway.
Qal’at al Bahrain.
Bahrain Fort or Portuguese Fort as the locals call it, has been inhabited and extended by various occupants from 2300 BC up to the 18th century. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and does not fail to impress. A path leads completely round the external walls and affords great photos of the site.
It overlooks the sea which can be seen better once inside the fort and up on the walls or towers. It also looks back towards Manama city, the capital of Bahrain, and it is certainly a strange feeling to be standing on such an old site, looking towards the distant modern skyscrapers.
Once inside the fort there are huge towers, battlement walls and many stairs and open air rooms to explore with some beautiful archways to pass through. Some parts are still basically old foundations and small walls and other parts have clearly been rebuilt and restored back to how they would have looked to give you the impression of its grand architecture.
There is an audio guide if needed and an exhibition hall at the entrance with exhibits, diagrams and info for you to get acquainted with the site before going out into it. There is also an great café with food and drink here to recover in after the trek in the heat!
Al-Fatih Mosque (Great Mosque)
This Mosque is the largest in Bahrain, was built in 1988, holds 7000 worshippers and is named after Bahrain’s founder. It is located opposite a Royal Palace that has high walls to prevent people snooping in! The Mosque’s huge dome is constructed entirely of fibreglass and weighs over 60 tons and is currently the world’s largest fibreglass dome.
The marble used in the floors is Italian and the chandelier is from Austria, quite an international construction ! The car park outside for the worshippers was the size of one found at a huge shopping mall and obviously caters for the dominance of travel by car in Bahrain.
Bahrain National Theatre.
Sitting next to the Bahrain National Museum, this waterfront theatre, (click here for opening hours etc), was only opened in 2012 with a performance by Placido Domingo. Its fabulously modern, airy design made me want to go over and visit it but it was shut as it was between set ups of performances.
Bahrain is a small country, physically and its capital Manama, is the only city worth a visit.
It’s easy to add this city into a Gulf State trip as the area is well connected to other countries nearby.
Whilst there is relatively little to explore, the Potuguese Fort was inpressive and worth the effort to see for its uniqueness in the region.
April 2017.
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I never knew there were so many tiny areas in this part of the world. You always hear about the bigger states or countries but never about the smaller one. It is good to explore some of these smaller places and see what it has to offer from time to time. Depending on the type of person you are, it can be enough or underwhelming.
It was so good to be able to move between the countries over the period I was there. Although it may seem that they are similar, they each have unique aspects that make them so different from one another.
I’m not surprised that Manama is so car-centric, as I imagine a lot of the gulf states to be, but I’m pleased to read that they’re also using wind turbines to generate electricity. Why did the Portuguese build the fort? It definitely stands out from the otherwise very modern architecture of the city.
I rarely saw a bus on the streets of Manama, so even though I wanted to take one, I couldn’t find bus stops. The Portuguese used it for trading but it also served as a military base to dominate the area’s people.
Bahrain doesn’t seem to do anything by half, does it?! The mosque is most impressive, as is the mall if that’s your thing. It did look ridiculously quiet, although I guess not surprising with those prices. I’d much prefer to explore the fort. Now that looks really interesting, and with so much history.
The Mall was right in front of my hotel so I couldn’t miss it and it was worth it to see what they had built under the Trade Centre. Yes, ridiculously quiet, almost eerily so. I loved the fort, the only really ancient thing here and it was so photogenic too.
I had to look it up on Google Maps, as I’ve never heard of Manama or Bahrain before, so thanks for introducing me to a new part of the world. You mentioned at the beginning the fortress was a pull for you to visit Manama. After seeing and touring the fortress with you, I can see why. Just shows how well traversed the Portuguese were. True explorers and world citizens. I wonder if Manama still has a Portuguese community?
Carolin | Solo Travel Story
The fortress is one of the few old buildings left in Bahrain, so the country does not have a big pull in the tourism trade. However the fort is big, picturesque and quite exciting to explore. I feel it is one of the most enticing historical buildings in the Gulf area and is bigger and more spectacular than its well-known neighbouring fort in Dubai. What it lacks in numbers it gains in quality. Am not aware of a Portuguese community left over here, as in Goa in India.
What an extraordinary surprise to discover that there is a Portuguese fort in Bahrain and that it is a UNESCO heritage site. No doubt the impressive mix of modern and ancient architecture is a plus for the visit. Seeing the contrast of the impressive mall building with the fort, and even the mosque, is indeed interesting for an architecture lover, like me. Thanks for introducing me to this piece of history of my country, as I was unaware of its existence.
Yes, the fact that the fort was Portuguese is quite unique, not many in this part of the world. You are right in that Manama has a contrast of old and new and it’s worth a quick visit to capture the differences in this city.
I had never heard of Manama or read anything about Bahrain before. The fort was beautiful and its architecture spectacular. I can see why you’ve recommended it. A very stark difference to the architecture of the World trade Center, which displays some great engineering but not as beautiful as the fort in my opinion.
I took a lot more photos of the fort than I can put on the post as it was so picturesque and interesting. It really was one of the highlights of historical buildings in the Gulf region.
I’ve never heard of Manama so I was excited to learn about it with your post! I did have to look it up on a map though once I saw your sea picture. While I’m not big museum person I think visiting the Bahrain National Museum would be important since I’m not that familiar with the country. It would be a great introduction to their history. The fortress looks really cool to explore so I don’t blame you for visiting here because of it!
Many people have not heard of Manama, so I am delighted to be introducing something new to you to consider. Bahrain is a very small country and the capital is the only major city in the country. The Portuguese Fort is such an interesting buildings, full of history and superb views out to see and across to the modern centre of the city.
I was just telling my husband that I have no idea what Bahrain (and Kuwait) were like as we’re just back from Dubai and your post has answered some of my questions. Bahrain looks very clean (like all GCC countries) and must feel very safe to walk in. I like how empty that shopping mall looks unlike the Dubai mall which I’ve literally run away from. The fort also looks very character full and well preserved unlike the ones in Dubai and Oman which look a bit too “disneyfied”.
The Portuguese fort here is semi-ruins and they have avoided the temptation to rebuild much of it, as has happened to the one in Dubai. It gives it more character this way. I found Manama to be quite an empty city people-wise. Everywhere I went there were no crowds and even the streets could feel very quiet at times.