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A Visit to Bahrain

I had a general idea where Bahrain was, having touched down at the  
Bahrain airport  a few times on the way to Abu Dhabi, but other than  
that I knew very little about this small country. John and I were  
invited to come and visit for a few days after the Malaysia WEC - to  
be introduced to their Endurance program. Tawfiq Salehi, the head of  
the Media & Information Center for HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al  
Khalifa arranged the trip for us. We had met Tawfiq and a few others  
from the media and the Royal Stables at previous events, and had been  
trying to get over there for a while. The invitation was extended,  
the timing was perfect, so we juggled our plane reservations and made  
the trip.

The only other Middle Eastern country I had been to previously was  
UAE - United Arab Emirates. (I've been to Egypt, but I'm not sure  
whether it is technically Middle East, or North Africa...)  (and we  
were in Oman once but only for a few hours when we accidently crossed  
the border while driving through the wadi's with Grace and Madiya). I  
assumed Bahrain would be more traditional - less 'westernized' than  
UAE, and thought it might be like UAE was ten years ago. But, what a  
surprise! This is a very modern country.

Bahrain means 'two seas'. It is actually a group of islands off the  
coast of Saudi Arabia, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf - a strategic  
location, which was contested by many nations and peoples over the  
past centuries. It was most recently wrested from the Persians in the  
1700's by the Al Khalifa family who came from the Arabian mainland  
(Saudi) . The island nation became a British protectorate in the  
1800's and finally gained independence in 1971. With the discovery of  
oil, the nation prospered and the Al Khalifa family gradually moved  
Bahrain into the circle of modern finances and culture. The skyline  
of Manama, the capital of Bahrain, is graced with high-rise buildings  
and modern architecture. A classic feature of the skyline is a  
sweeping building of chrome and green glass, suggestive of a wave,  
with 3 huge wind turbines built into the structure's center -  
designed (by Norman Foster) to compliment the seascape and capture  
the wind energy from the ocean.

Several of the islands that make up the Kingdom of Bahrain are  
connected by bridges, and there is also a bridge connecting Bahrain  
to Saudi Arabia. Bahrain has become a haven for many Saudi's - a  
place where they can come to escape the restrictions of their own  
government and enjoy a more moderate atmosphere. The Saudi's have  
also invested a lot of wealth in businesses, buildings and banks  
(Bahrain is a major world banking center). The countries of the GCC  
(Gulf Cooperation Council) enjoy unrestricted trade among themselves,  
so there is little to inhibit development in neighboring countries.  
This has contributed considerably to Bahrain's growth and status.   
There are plans to build a suspension bridge between Bahrain and  
Qatar which will also increase the flow of business and greatly  
increase Bahrain's accessibility.  Bahrain also has a Free Trade  
Agreement with the United States. They are very open and friendly to  
westerners in general.

We were met at the airport by Yusef - no English spoken, but he  
recognized the tall Americans and led us to the baggage claim, and  
then outside where we were handed over to 'Driver' a very tall, soft  
spoken Bahraini who also spoke very little English, but had a ready  
smile and drove a Mercedes with special (Royal) license plates and  
had a very confident and protective air about him - and he tried  
really hard to understand our friendly chatter. We were taken to the  
Bahrain Sheraton - where it hardly even felt like we were in a  
foreign country - English spoken by all, catering to business people  
and visitors.  Driver saw that we were checked in and then said he'd  
pick us up at 'Ten and a Half' the next morning. Ok then!

After breakfast, and a chance to work a little (internet in the room  
- still finishing up from Malaysia) we met Driver downstairs and  
hopped into his Mercedes and off we went - to somewhere. It was great  
to go for a drive in the daylight - past the tall buildings, along  
the seashore and corniche, past tons of new construction, some  
quarries (aluminum is also a major export), neighborhoods, shopping  
centers, around the palace, back out the other side, and finally into  
a large compound - a series of buildings and offices and suburban  
style homes that were built in the 1970's to house the employees and  
workers of Bapco - Bahrain Petroleum Company - the first major oil  
company in Bahrain, which was eventually nationalized.

One of the suburban style homes holds the office of the Media and  
Information Center - for the Bahrain Court, and also most of the  
National Media.  We met there with Tawfiq, and Sena (a new media  
employee), and Omar Ali Bukamel (a recent University of Bahrain  
Business School graduate, and a compellingly beautiful young man!).   
We enjoyed a discussion with them. Tawfiq explained the role of the  
Media office, modes of communication, and their goal for the next few  
years. Bahrain would be hosting more Endurance events, with the goal  
of qualifying more riders and horses and generally improving the  
sport in Bahrain.

The two sons of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Sh. Khalid bin  
Hamad Al Khalifa and  Sh. Nasser bin Hamad Al  
Khalifa) are very active in sports, and Endurance has become one of  
their favorites. In particular Sh. Nasser  devotes  
most of his free time to Endurance. He is the captain of the Bahrain  
Endurance Team, and spends his free time at the Royal Stable riding  
and training. Under Sh. Nasser's directive Bahrain will be inviting  
foreign riders to participate in rides this season to raise the  
awareness and level of competence of local riders.

After our meeting we were taken back to the hotel, and then went on  
an evening tour of the old forts that are still standing.  Fort Arad  
is a 15th century structure which has been beautifully renovated and  
preserved. It was quite stunning in the evening light. And as we left  
the fort and returned to the car a young man went by leading a  
stunning chestnut Arabian stallion - I assume he was a groom out  
exercising the horse. It was surprising to see this sight in the  
city, I figured there must be a stable nearby. We later came to learn  
how important the Arabian horse is, and has been, to Bahraini culture  
- they have their own Royal Arabian Stud which has been treasured and  
preserved for at least two centuries. More on that later...

We were driven to several forts, through old neighborhoods and narrow  
winding streets, past the 'Bab Al Bahrain' - doorway to Bahrain -  
which was an arched entrance to the commericial - souk - district.  
All very interesting - lots of renovation going on. We circled around  
the waterways from one island to another as the sun was going down -  
a view across the water of Manama's skyline and the huge orange ball  
of sun. Driver tried to slow down enough for us to take pictures, and  
we took a few, but the sun wasn't quite low enough to have a Great  
picture, so he grinned and said, no problem - we go around again. He  
wound expertly through the evening traffic, slipped back on to the  
exit and we circled the whole thing  - again. He was actually a lot  
of fun (lack of language communication not withstanding) and it was  
obvious that he enjoyed his job and loved the feel of the Mercedes on  
the road!

more later-

Steph









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