2020. máj 15.

Beautiful Arab cities 2. Manama (Bahrain)

írta: musafir

In our series we present beautiful Arab cities. In the second part, you can read a short summary of Manama (المنامة), the capital of Bahrain (البحرين).

The name of the city comes from the Arabic word المنامة (al-Manama), which means: The place of rest. The settlement was founded in the 16th century.

Despite its small size, Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain. The country is located in the northeastern part of the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf, الخليج العربي). About 157,000 people live in Manama.

Manama has an extremely diverse population. Only 50% of the population has Arabic origin (of which about 45% is Bahraini) and 45% of the population has Asian (India, Sri Lanka, Philippines) descent. The majority of Bahrainis – about 62-70% – are Shia, but the state has a ruling Sunni Muslim elite. In addition, there are 360,000 Bahraini Christians living in the country.

Islam is the main religion, and Bahrainis are known for their tolerance towards the practice of other faiths. Intermarriages between Bahrainis and expatriates are not uncommon—there are many Filipino-Bahrainis.

Government-provided health care is free to Bahraini citizens and heavily subsidised for non-Bahrainis. Private hospitals are also present throughout the country, such as the International Hospital of Bahrain.

Rules on women's dress are generally more lenient than in neighboring countries; women’s traditional attire is usually the hijab (حجاب) or abaya (عباية / عباءة). Women do not need to cover up here; they probably have more rights in Bahrain than in any other Gulf State. There is no obligation to appear in traditional folk costumes. The men's traditional attire is called thawb (ثوب) with a headgear called kuffiyeh (كُوفِيَّة) or ghutra (غُتْرة).

The Irish Times web portal writes about the city:
"Manama is a very easy city to settle in. The people are very friendly here. It’s not uncommon for expats to have close Bahraini friends, which is quite unique for the Arabian Gulf. There is a large expat community too and close lifetime friendships are forged. Life is genuinely easy here. The quality of life is good. Salaries are high and there are lots of perks being an expat. The international schools are amazing, and there are lots of activities for the kids, including Gaelic football, rugby, swimming and karate."