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Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is
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 ...
's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by
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 population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on
Muharraq Island Muharraq Island (), formerly known as Moharek, is the second largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island. It lies east of the capital, Manama, on Bahrain Island. History It is named after Muharraq City, the former capital ...
.
Bahrain International Airport Bahrain International Airport ( ar, مطار البحرين الدولي, ''maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī'') is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama, it serves as the hub for the nati ...
is also located on the island. Adjacent to Muharraq are the man-made
Amwaj Islands Amwaj Islands ( ar, جزر أمواج; transliterated: Juzur Amwaj) are a group of man-made islands, located in the Persian Gulf to the northeast of Bahrain, near the coast of Muharraq island. They lie northeast of the capital, Manama, on Bahrai ...
, known for their large buildings, hotels and beaches. Muharraq is home to
Muharraq Club Al-Muharraq Sports Club ( ar, نادي المحرق الرياضي) is a Bahraini professional football club based in Muharraq. It is one of the oldest sports clubs in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Muharraq Sports Club has won the Bahraini Premier ...
, which is Bahrain's most successful football club. It is home to the famous Siyadi House. The city is also known for its souq (traditional market) and as a home of traditional arts and music; Ali Bahar, a popular and successful Bahraini singer is from Muharraq.


History

Muharraq was originally part of
Dilmun Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: , later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), ni.tukki = DILMUNki; ar, دلمون) was an ancient East Semitic-speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards. Based on contextual evidence, it was ...
, a Semitic speaking
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
polity. Later, it became the city of Arwad on the island of
Tylos Tylos ( grc, Τύλος) was the Greek exonym of ancient Bahrain in the classical era, during which the island was a center of maritime trade and pearling in the Eurythraean Sea.Curtis E. Larsen, ''Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands: The ...
(as Bahrain was referred to in antiquity), believed by some (including Strabo and
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
) to be the birthplace of
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
. At the end of Persian rule, Bahrain came under the domination of the Seleucid Greeks, and Muharraq was the centre of a pagan cult dedicated to the shark god,
Awal AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...
. The city's inhabitants, who depended upon
seafaring Seamanship is the Art (skill), art, knowledge and Competence (human resources), competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques ...
and trade for their livelihood, worshipped Awal in the form of a large statue of a shark located in the city. By the 5th century AD, Muharraq had become a major centre of
Nestorian Christianity The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
, which had come to dominate the southern shores of the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
. As a sect, the Nestorians were often persecuted as heretics by the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, but Bahrain was outside the Empire's control offering safety. The names of several of Muharraq's villages today reflect this Christian legacy, with Al-Dair meaning 'the monastery' and Qalali meaning a 'monk's cloisters'. Taken by the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
(1521) and the
Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...
(1602), Al-Muḥarraq passed to the control of the
Āl Khalīfah The House of Khalifa ( ar, آل خليفة, translit=Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which mi ...
dynasty in 1783 with the rest of Bahrain.


Economy

Gulf Air Gulf Air ( ar, طيران الخليج ''Ṭayarān al-Khalīj'') is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British Pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airli ...
has its headquarters in Muharraq, and
Bahrain Air Bahrain Air ( ar, طيران البحرين) was an airline of the Kingdom of Bahrain, headquartered in the Mohamed Centre in Muharraq. Its main base was Bahrain International Airport. The airline flew to 16 destinations in the Middle East, Afri ...
formerly had its headquarters in the Mohamed Centre in Muharraq.


Government and infrastructure

Building 586 in Muharraq houses the headquarters of the Civil Aviation Affairs, an agency of the
Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
.


Education

The Ministry of Education of Bahrain operates public government schools. Boys schools include Abu Farias Al-Hamdani Primary Boys School, Al-Maari Primary Boys School, Hassan bin Thabit Primary Boys School, Omer bin Abdulazeez Primary Boys School, Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa al-Khalifa Primary Boys School, Omer bin Al-Kattab Primary Intermediate Boys School, Abdul-Rahman Al-Nasser Intermediate Boys School, Tariq bin Zeyad Intermediate Boys School, and Moharraq Secondary Boys School. Girls schools include A'amena bint Wahab Primary Girls School, Al-Muharraq Primary Girls School, Mariam bent Omran Primary Girls School, Zubaida Primary Girls School, Istiklal, Khadija al-Kubra Intermediate Girls School, Zanoobia Intermediate Girls School, and Muharraq Secondary Girls School. The French School of Bahrain is located in Busaiteen, in Muharraq Municipality.French School Access Map
"
Archive
. French School of Bahrain. Retrieved on 23 April 2015.


Firjan (districts)

Firjan is the plural of the Arabic word ''Fareej'' which translates to district. The oldest and largest Fareej in Muharraq is Fareej Al Bin Ali. It was established by Sunni Arabs belonging to the
Al Bin Ali Al Bin Ali ( ar, آل بن علي) is a Sunni Arab sub-tribal confederation based in the Arab states especially in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Al bin Ali Al Utbi Tribe, is a descendant of the Origin ...
tribe in the 17th century and until recently, members of the tribe still lived in that Fareej. Other Firjan in Muharraq include: Al Bu Khmais, Al-Gumra, Al-Zayayina, Al-Ma'awida, Bin Ghatim, Al-Jowder, Bin Hindi, Al-'Amamira, Al-Mahmeed, Al-Hayaj (or Al-Hayayej), Al-Sanqal, Al-Dosa, Al-Sagha, Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Hamad, and Bin Khatir are all Sunni districts. Unlike Manama's firjans which are mostly Shia, Muharraq has fareejs which are mostly Sunni.


See also

*
Amwaj Islands Amwaj Islands ( ar, جزر أمواج; transliterated: Juzur Amwaj) are a group of man-made islands, located in the Persian Gulf to the northeast of Bahrain, near the coast of Muharraq island. They lie northeast of the capital, Manama, on Bahrai ...
, man-made islands near Al Muharraq. *
Christianity in Eastern Arabia Christians reached the shores of the Persian Gulf by the beginning of the fourth century. According to the ''Chronicle of Seert'', Bishop David of Perat d'Maishan was present at the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, around 325, and sailed as far as Ind ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muharraq Populated places in Bahrain Former municipalities (regions) of Bahrain