Fareej el-Makharqa or Al-Makharga ( ar, فريج المخارقة) is a neighborhood in the heart of

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', 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 home to a very di ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. It is adjacent to Fareej el-Hammam, Fareej el-Hatab, Fareej el-Fadhel, and

Gudaibiya Gudaibiya (''Qudaibiya'') is a neighbourhood in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain. An older part of the city, yet a busy area, Gudaibiya is a bustling and highly cosmopolitan area, home to many new arrivals in the Kingdom. Gudaibiya houses embas ...

History

Its name derives from the ancient craft of piercing

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s and making jewelry. Fareej el-Makharqa holds the most important meetings of the opposition parties. Therefore, meetings of the opposing movements from all over Bahrain were held in the influential Shiite mosque Masjid Mu'min and the Sunni

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Jami'a Al-Mihza'. Nowadays, it is a sacred district in the old city of Manama, in which religious gatherings are held, especially during the month of

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...

and in Ashura, the sacred day of

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

in which

Imam Hussain Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

, the grandson of the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

, was killed by the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

ruler Yazid ibn Muawiyah.

Matams

Some of the matams or

hussainia A ḥosayniya or hussainiya (Arabic: حسينية ''husayniyya''), also known as an ashurkhana, imambargah, or imambara, is a congregation hall for Twelver Shia Muslim commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Mourning of ...

s in Al Makharga are: * Matam Bin Rajab, مأتم بن رجب first Matam in all of Manama * Matam Madan مأتم مدن * Matam Bin Zabar * Matam Alajam Alkabeer مأتم العجم الكبير * Matam Algassab مأتم القصاب * Matam Bin Saloom مأتم بن سلوم * Matam Alahsaiyeen مأتم الأحسائيين * Matam Aljahramiya مأتم الجهرمية * Matam Alajah مأتم العجة * Matam Bin Khalaf مأتم بن خلف * Matam Dashti مأتم دشتي * Matam AlBad'e مأتم البدع * Matam Abu Aqlain مأتم أبو عقلين * Matam Al Aghtam مأتم الأغتم

References

Neighborhoods of Manama {{Bahrain-geo-stub