Manama

Manama (Arabic: المنامة, transliteration: al-Manāma) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain with an approximate population of 200,000 people (2020) in the city. The urban area is home to 635,000, roughly 40% of the country's population.

Understand
Manama emerged as the capital of independent Bahrain after periods of domination by Portugal and Persians. Today, it is a modern capital with an economy based on the sales promotion industry as crude oil takes a less pronounced role in the economy.

Climate
Unsurprisingly Manama and Bahrain has an arid climate, with little rain (most of it falling during the winter months) and high temperatures during much of the year. During the summer daytime highs around +40°C can be expected, during the winter the mercury generally approaches +20°C.

History


The Bahrain Island has been inhabited since around 3000 BC, and has been an important trading point ever since. Back then, it was the site of the Dilmun civilization, of which world heritage listed burial mounds remain, mainly around the city of A'ali just southwest of Manama.

In the first millenia the island went by the names of Awal, Mishmahig and Tylos and was ruled by several empires from around 700 BC onwards - the Assyrian, Babylonian, and different Persian empires. The inhabitants converted to Islam in 628, and towards the end of the 7th century the first Khamis Mosque was built at the western outskirts of today's Manama. The mosque that today stands there is the third.

The first records of a town by the name Manama is in a manuscript from 1345. Around that time, the island was a tributary of the Kingdom of Hormuz and the island's capital Bilad Al Qadeem (today a suburb of Manama) had became a centre of religious scholarship and pearl fishing. Buildings related to pearling in the adjacent island city of Muharraq comprise another of the country's three world heritage sites.

In 1521, the Portuguese who at the time controlled the spice trade along the Cape Route took possession of the island and set up a fort at the western outskirts of present-day Manama. The Portuguese fort, going by the name Qal'at al-Bahrain is the third world heritage site in Bahrain, and the only one administratively in Manama. Bahrain was reconquered by Persians (the Safavid Empire at the time) in 1602.

In addition to pearling and trading, also agriculture trived; orchards, date palms, barley and wheat was grown. Pearls was however the main export product that brought wealth to the island. Persian rule continued until 1783, when the Arab Bani Utbah tribe invaded and set up Bahrain as an independent kingdom. This was followed by almost a century of unrest with the governments along the coast fighting each other and a civil war between the island's co-rulers in 1842. In 1862, Manama consisted of ruins and pearl fishermen's shacks - the port was closed and its merchants had moved elsewhere.

Now the British, who had an interest in safeguarding the routes to the Raj, made Bahrain into a protectorate in 1861 as part of the Persian Gulf Residency, with Manama as its capital. With peace and safety guaranteed, the pearl trade grew rapidly again. But so did the British influence. After WWI, in 1919, Bahrain was made part of the Empire. Administrative reforms were made, and in practice the British ran the country. Pearling was replaced with oil industry in the 1930s, which proved important for the British war effort a few years later. The airport which had been opened in 1927 served as the airbase RAF Muharraq during WWII and until Bahraini independence.

As in many parts of the world, after the war voices were raised for independence from Western colonial overlords. Increasing protests after the Suez Crisis led to the British withdrawing from Bahrain in 1971, at the point which Bahrain became independent. Up until then, Manama was a much smaller town than it's today but it changed in the 1970s with a construction boom where the surrounding towns and villages were incorporated into Manama. This also led to a large influx of construction workers from the Indian subcontinent, soon outnumbering the native Bahrainians. Also land reclamation was used to create land that could be easily built on.

Over the following decades, Manama developed into the Gulf state metropolis it is today with a number of financial institutions, albeit it's much smaller than Kuwait, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Doha and it also doesn't have a flag carrier whose jumbojets can be seen on all major airports of the world. As such it's less of a destination where people stop over for a few hours or a day on their trip between, say, Europe and Australia, but rather a place that you travel to as the main destination, to get a glimpse into Middle Eastern culture.

Tourist information

 * The tourism section of the website of the Capital Governorate


 * Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority

Get in
All roads in Bahrain lead to Manama, so see the main Bahrain article for details. is in the adjacent city of Muharraq.

By bus
Bahrain Public Transport operate a network of bus routes across the city, with route A1 linking the airport and Manama every 20 minutes.

As of September 2019, a paper single ticket bought on the bus costs 300 fils, or there is a "pay as you go" option using a Go Card (card price 500 fils, sold at ticket machines including at the airport, then load with credit up to BD 50 maximum, but note that credit you load is not refundable) which reduces the fare for a single trip to 250 fils and offers a daily cap of 600 fils. Transfers are not offered (a fare is charged on each bus), and there are no discounts for children, students or elderly people.

Weekly passes (BD 3) and "monthly" 28-day passes (BD 12) are available, but these can only be issued on a Personalised Go Card sold at bus terminal ticket offices, not the anonymous card sold at ticket machines.

By taxi
Taxis are expensive. Extra charges are added to fares starting from the airport (BD 2) and any hotel (BD 1). Always use the meter or you will, guaranteed, get ripped off. A ride to the central parts of city will cost around BD 5-6.

By car
Renting a car is far less costly than paying for taxis, but beware of driving styles you might not be used to in your home country. Manama is a small city on a small Island, you won't get lost for very long. Make sure to buy a map: it should cost BD 0.50-1.00.

See














Do
Manama is a getaway for Arabs and expats residing in Arab countries where alcohol is banned. Tourists, particularly Saudis and residents of Saudi Arabia, come to Bahrain mainly for the nightlife.


 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.
 * Ice Skating The only ring in town is located at the Fun-land centre along the Marina corniche.



Shopping malls








Eat
Restaurants in Manama run the gamut from cheap shawarma joints to 5-star restaurants.

Budget
Cheap restaurants abound in the Adliya district.





Drink
Manama has a busy nightlife by Gulf standards. The main districts are Adliya, Hoora, Juffair and Business District. Many places to drink are in hotels (see the Sleep section below).



Budget




Embassies

 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇵🇰 Pakistan
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 United States

Go next

 * Muharraq with world heritage listed places related to the history of pearl diving.
 * Burial mounds from the Dilmun culture from the 4th century BC onwards, also on the world heritage list, are to be found around Bahrain but mostly around A'ali, some 10 km southwest of Manama.
 * Hawar Islands Are a group of islands situated off the west coast of Qatar in the Gulf of Bahrain of the Persian Gulf. In 2002, Bahrain applied to have the Hawar islands recognised as a World Heritage Site, due to its unique environment and habitat for endangered species. This site is home to many wildlife species and a very interesting place for birdwatchers and divers. Hawar Islands used to be one of the settlements of the Bahraini branch of the Dawasir who settled there in the early 1800s and on the main island of Bahrain in 1845 in the areas of Zallaq and Budaiya.
 * Saudi Arabia is just across the King Fahd Causeway &mdash; if you have the visa, of course.