Bab Al

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

( ar, باب البحرين, translitered ''Bāb al-Baḥrayn'' meaning ''Gateway of Bahrain'') is a historical building located in the Customs Square in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

. It marks the main entrance to the

Manama Souq Manama Souq () is the old bazaar ( souq) of Bahrain's capital, Manama. Location The Souq lies in the north of Manama, in-between the old parts of the city and the Central Business District, to the east of Noaim and west of Ras Rumman. The m ...

. Opened in 1949 and designed by the British adviser to the emir,

Charles Belgrave Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave KBE (9 December 1894 – 28 February 1969) was a British citizen and advisor to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 until 1957, as "Chief Administrator" or "adviserate". He first served under Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Kha ...

, Bab Al Bahrain once stood on the Manama coastline. Due to extensive land reclamation in the later half of the 20th century, the structure is now several kilometres inland. The square is considered to be the region's first formal

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

Location

The building is situated on Government Avenue in Manama. It lies adjacent to the King Faisal Highway that leads to the

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

connecting the country to the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

The

Bahrain Financial Harbour Bahrain Financial Harbour ( ar, مرفأ البحرين المالي, commonly abbreviated as BFH) is a waterfront commercial development project located on the northern shore of Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. Costing $1.5 billion and cover ...

and other landmarks are nearby.

History

The monument itself was refurbished in 1986 to incorporate Islamic architectural features. In 2013, a complete new refurbishment of the facade and the interiors was made, the ground floor now houses the

tourist information office A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

and a handicrafts shop. Today the monument essentially consists of a huge arch, below which runs a road, which is often referred to as the entrance to the Manama souq (marketplace) and 2 sides arches are made for pedestrian. The building hosts several shops and cafes, including Naseef Cafe which was the first ice cream shop in the country. Government Avenue, which runs in front of Bab Al Bahrain, contains many major banks and business establishments. Government Avenue is so named because the entire offices of the Bahrain government were once housed here. The Gold City (different from Gold Souq) is a shopping complex for gold ornaments and is also located on Government Avenue. The

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n jewellery retailer Alukkas has a branch in Gold City. Bab al Bahrain is expected to serve as an interchange station for the 109km Bahrain Metro which is expected to be fully operational by 2030.

References

{{coord, 26.234726, 50.574661, type:landmark_scale:2000_source:wikimapia, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1949 Buildings and structures in Manama Tourist attractions in Manama

Location

History

See also

References