Portal:Bahrain

The Bahrain Portal

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 33 natural islands and an additional 50 artificial islands, centred on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 80 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population is 1,588,670 as of 2024, of whom 739,736 (46.6% of the population) are Bahraini nationals, and 848,934 are expatriates (53.4% of the population). Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

The area that straddles the present-day territory of Bahrain was once the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur. It has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 19th century, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the constitution made sharia a principal source for legislation. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its Shia Muslim population.

Bahrain is known as one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors; many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in Manama. Oil revenues still constitute a significant part of its government budget. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Full article...)

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Clockwise from top-left: Protesters raising their hands towards the Pearl Roundabout on 19 February 2011; Teargas usage by security forces and clashes with protesters on 13 March; Over 100,000 Bahrainis taking part in the "March of loyalty to martyrs", on 22 February; clashes between security forces and protesters on 13 March; Bahraini armed forces blocking an entrance to a Bahraini village.

The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the mainly Shia and some Sunni Bahraini opposition primarily from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and protests in Tunisia and Egypt and escalated to daily clashes after the Bahraini government put the revolt down with the support of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Peninsula Shield Force. The Bahraini protests were a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of both non-violent civil disobedience and volatile riots in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the 45% Shia population. Towards the culmination of the protests, the demands metamorphosed into calls for the resignation of former Crown Prince Khalifa Bin Salman and establishing an Islamic republic similar to that of Iran.

This expanded to a call to end the monarchy of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama, known locally as Bloody Thursday. Protesters in Manama camped for days at the Pearl Roundabout, which became the centre of the protests. When attempts to improvise a political dialogue between the government and opposition became futile, the government of Bahrain requested troops and police aid from the Gulf Cooperation Council (Peninsula Shield Force). On 14 March, 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia, 500 troops from the UAE and naval ships from Kuwait entered Bahrain and crushed the uprising. A day later, King Hamad declared martial law and a three-month state of emergency. Pearl Roundabout was cleared of protesters and the iconic statue at its center was demolished. (Full article...)

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Wind tower

The Tree of Life in Bahrain is a 9.75 meters (32 feet) high Prosopis cineraria tree that is over 400 years old. It is on a hill in a barren area of the Arabian Desert, 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Jebel Dukhan, the highest point in Bahrain, and 40 kilometers from Manama, the nearest city.^[1]

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Layout of the Bahrain International Circuit

The 2013 Bahrain GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 20 and 21 April 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the GP2 Series. It was the second round of the 2013 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix. The first race, a 32-lap feature event, was won by Racing Engineering driver Fabio Leimer from pole position. Stefano Coletti finished second for Rapax and Caterham Racing driver Alexander Rossi took third. Sam Bird won the following day's 30-lap sprint race for Russian Time, with Carlin's Felipe Nasr second and Coletti third.

Leimer held off the fast-starting Coletti to keep the lead and pulled out a significant gap in the following laps before ceding the lead to Adrian Quaife-Hobbs for ten laps after a mandatory pit stop for tyres. Leimer retook first place after Quaife-Hobbs's pit stop and held the position to win the race. Tom Dillmann started from pole position in the sprint race but lost the lead to teammate Bird before the end of the first lap. Coletti and Nasr gained on Bird in the final two laps as his tyres were worn. Coletti bowed out after running wide and lost second to Nasr before the final lap and Bird held off Nasr to win the race by 0.080 seconds, the closest margin of victory in GP2 Series history. (Full article...)

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General images -
The following are images from various Bahrain-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Portuguese Fort in 1870. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 2Artistic depiction of Nasr Al-Madhkur in Bushehr (from History of Bahrain)
Image 3Bahrain province before Independence, was simultaneously part of Iran, a British protectorate whilst at the same time it was ruled "locally" by the Al-Khalifa tribe. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 4Facsimile of a letter sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn-Sawa al-Tamimi, governor of Bahrain, in AD 628 (from Bahrain)
Image 5The Portuguese Fort of Barém, built by the Portuguese when they ruled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602 (from Bahrain)
Image 6Over 100,000 of Bahrainis taking part in the "March of Loyalty to Martyrs", honoring political dissidents killed by security forces, on 22 February. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 7A 1745 Bellin map of the historical region of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 8Location of the Dilmun burial mounds in Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 9Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys school. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 10The Bahrain Fort, location of Dilmun artifacts. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 11National Evangelical Church, Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 12Dilmun burial mounds in 1918. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 13Female students at the University of Bahrain dressed in traditional garb (from Bahrain)
Image 14The Khamis Mosque in 1956. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 15The National Union Committee members in 1954 (from History of Bahrain)
Image 16A photograph of the First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931 (from Bahrain)
Image 17The Shrinathji temple in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 18Manama skyline as viewed from Juffair (from Bahrain)
Image 19The Bahrain national football team playing Australia on 10 June 2009, in a World Cup qualifier (from Bahrain)
Image 20Map of Bahrain in 1825 (from Bahrain)
Image 21Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 22Purple – Portuguese in the Persian Gulf in the 16th and 17th centuries (modern boundaries shown). Main cities, ports and routes. (from Bahrain)
Image 23The Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa house is an example of traditional architecture in Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 24This photograph shows the coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in February 1933. (from Bahrain)
Image 25Mixed Martial Arts hosted by BRAVE Combat Federation event in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 26The cities of Muharraq (foreground) and Manama (background) (from Bahrain)
Image 27First Oil Well, Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 28Protesters at the Pearl Roundabout just before it was demolished (from Bahrain)
Image 29Ambulance in International Hospital of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 30Manama seen from Muharraq (from Bahrain)
Image 31The Persian Empire in the Sassanid era on the eve of the Arab conquest, c. 600 AD (from Bahrain)
Image 32An artisan making pottery using the traditional mud and water mixture on a revolving wheel. (from Bahrain)
Image 33Bahraini protests against the ruling Al Khalifa family in 2011 (from Bahrain)
Image 34The King Fahd Causeway as seen from space (from Bahrain)
Image 35The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II (from History of Bahrain)
Image 36The podium ceremony at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix (from Bahrain)
Image 37The view from outside one of the entrance gates at the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 38Phoenicians man their ships in service to Assyrian king Sennacherib, during his war against the Chaldeans in the Persian Gulf, ca. 700 BC (from History of Bahrain)
Image 39Manama souq in 1965 (from Bahrain)
Image 40The emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa heads the opening session of the first conference on the formation of a union of the Gulf emirates in February 1968. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 41Overview of Manama, 1953 (from Bahrain)
Image 42A view of Arad Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 43Map of Manama in 1926. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 44Facsimile of the letter written by Muhammed to the ruler of Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 45King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa meets American president Donald Trump in May 2017 (from Bahrain)
Image 46A view of the Grand Avenue section of the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 47Sidade de Baren depicted in Lázaro Luís' 1563 map of Arabia (from History of Bahrain)
Image 48Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) are native to Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 49National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural Centre (from Bahrain)
Image 50Bahrainis observing public prayers in Manama (from Bahrain)
Image 51The historical region of Bahrain on a 1745 Bellin map (from History of Bahrain)
Image 52The new terminal of the Bahrain International Airport (from Bahrain)
Image 53The Tree of Life, a 9.75 metre high Prosopis cineraria tree that is over 400 years old (from Bahrain)
Image 54Manama Souq on Bahrain National Day (from Bahrain)
Image 55Manama Harbour, c. 1870 (from Bahrain)
Image 56The proposed federation of Arab emirates (from History of Bahrain)
Image 57Bahrain is the eleventh most water-stressed country in the world. (from Bahrain)
Image 58Several people held a sit-in in solidarity with human rights activist Nabeel Rajab (from Bahrain)
Image 59Coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in 1933. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 60Map showing the locations of the ancient burial mounds. There are an estimated 350,000 burial mounds. (from Bahrain)
Image 61Inside Riffa Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 62GDP per capita development in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 63Topography (from Bahrain)

Did you know -

... that Bahraini former parliamentarian Abduljalil Khalil resigned his position in February 2011 in protest against government crackdown on anti-government demonstrations?

More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that as part of Bahrainization, the Bahraini government prohibited foreigners from driving taxis?
... that between 2006 and 2007, Stacy Hollowell worked for basketball teams in Qatar, China, Bahrain and Lithuania?
... that the first Chinese driver to race in Formula One debuted at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix?
... that hurdler Ahmed Hamada was the Bahraini flagbearer for two Olympic Games – sixteen years apart?
... that Bahraini author Fatema Al Harbi, the first non-government Bahraini to visit Israel, faced death threats upon her return to Bahrain?
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?

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Sources

^ "Tree of Life". Lonely Planet.

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[1] "Tree of Life". Lonely Planet.

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