Jidda Islands ( ar, جزيرة جدة) are a group of three small uninhabited

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

s in

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 ...

, lying to the west of

Bahrain Island Bahrain Island ( ar, جزيرة البحرين ''Jazīrah al-Baḥrayn''), also known as al-Awal Island and formerly as Bahrein, is the largest island within the archipelago of Bahrain, and forms the bulk of the country's land mass while hosting ...

and just north of

Umm an Nasan Umm an Nasan island ( ar, ام النعسان) is the fifth largest island in Bahrain. It is west of the capital, Manama, on Bahrain Island. Description Umm an Nasan is privately owned by Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and is off ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. They are west of the capital,

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 ...

, on Bahrain Island.

History

In 1930 Jidda became the location of one of Bahrain's

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

Majeed Marhoon Majeed Marhoon ( ar, مجيد مرهون) (1945–2010) was a Bahraini saxophonist, and a former leftist political activist with the National Liberation Front of Bahrain. He spent 22 years in prison in Bahrain between 1968 and 1990, accused of p ...

Abdulhadi Khalaf Abdulhadi Khalaf ( ar, عبد الهادي خلف, born 1945) is a Bahraini leftist political activist and senior lecturer in the Sociology department at Lund University. He is regarded as a specialist in the politics of the Persian Gulf region. ...

and several other political activists spent time in the prison in the sixties and seventies. It later became the private property of Prime Minister

Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa ( ar, خليفة بن سلمان آل خليفة) (24 November 1935 – 11 November 2020) was a Bahraini royal and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bahrain from 10 January 1970 until his death in 20 ...

and is currently closed from the public.

Geography

The main island is made of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs. It is believed that blocks of rock cut from the island were used in the

Barbar temple The Barbar Temple is an archaeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team in 1954. A further tw ...

. The small Mini Bahrain is an artificial island on the south shore made to look exactly like the big Bahrain island.

Demography

The island has a palace, gardens, a

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

, a

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, ...

Jidda Island Mosque - Archnet.org
/ref> and several other facilities made for the prime minister and his family, although the island is uninhabited and Sheikh Khalifa himself lived in

Riffa Riffa ( ar, الرفاع, ) is the second largest city in the Kingdom of Bahrain by area size. Riffa is divided into three parts: , and . The city is completely located in the Southern Governorate. The city is growing fast: during the 2001 cen ...

until his death in November 2020.

Administration

The island belongs to the

Northern Governorate The Northern Governorate ( ar, المحافظة الشمالية , translit=Al-Muḥāfaẓat aš-Šamālīyah) is one of the four governorates of Bahrain. It includes parts of the former municipalities of Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Minta ...

of Bahrain.

Transportation

It is connected to

by a causeway.

Image gallery

File:Un-bahrain.png, Map 1 File:Northern Governorate in Bahrain 2014.svg, District Map

References

External links

Article about politics of the islands
Abbas al Murshid Islands of Bahrain Uninhabited islands {{Bahrain-geo-stub