Zinj () is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
in the city of
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Etymology
The general belief amongst Bahraini scholars is that the reason why the suburb literally translates to "negros" or "blackamoors", is because it pertains to the African slaves who were sold there. Some foreign scholars disagree and claim that it is named after the
Zanj Rebellion
The Zanj Rebellion ( ar, ثورة الزنج ) was a major revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate, which took place from 869 until 883. Begun near the city of Basra in present-day southern Iraq and led by one Ali ibn Muhammad, the insurrection invol ...
against the
Abbasid caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
in the 9th century.
Geography
Zinj lies in the southern part of
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 ...
and lies adjacent to the Shaikh Isa Bin Salman highway which eventually leads to the
King Fahd Causeway
The King Fahd Causeway ( ar, جسر الملك فهد, Jisr al-Malik Fahd) is a 25 km (15.5 mi) long series of bridges and causeways connecting Khobar, Saudi Arabia and Al Jasra, Bahrain.
Its five bridges rest on 536 concrete pylons, with ...
to neighbouring
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 A ...
. Zinj is included in the country's planned
national light railway network.
The suburb is divided into two sections: New Zinj and Old Zinj. New Zinj consists of spacious villas, many overlooking the sea front and
Tubli Bay
Tubli Bay ( ar, خليج توبلي) (also known as the Gulf of Tubli) is a bay in the east of Bahrain, between Bahrain Island and Sitra island. The body of water is directly south of the Manama peninsula. The island of Nabih Saleh lies in the ba ...
. Old Zinj is an old section adjacent to the village of "
Bilad Al Qadeem" ().
History
Old Zinj houses many historical places such as
Al-Saboor Mosque, one of the oldest
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, ...
s in Bahrain. Al Saboor Mosque is uniquely known to have no ceiling since all efforts to build one have failed.
In
J. G. Lorimer's
Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf
The ''Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia'' (nicknamed ''Lorimer'') is a two-volume encyclopedia compiled by John Gordon Lorimer. The ''Gazetteer'' was published in secret by the British government in India in 1908 and 1915 an ...
, it is mentioned that 30 huts belonging to the
Baharna
The Baharna ( ar, بحارنة) are the indigenous Shia Muslim inhabitants of Bahrain who inhabited the area before the arrival of Sunni Muslim Arab tribes from Najd, particularly by Banu Utbah in the 18th century which the Bahraini royal famil ...
are located in the village, and that cement is locally produced in 1908. His account also mentions extensive cultivation of well-irrigated
date palm
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...
s (estimated at 12,000) and farm animals.
Zinj is the home of several foreign embassies including those of the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, while also being the previous location of the
embassy of Pakistan. In April 2002, large pro-
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
demonstrations, numbering up to 20,000, were held in front of the American embassy, in which a Bahraini citizen was killed and around 100 injured after the American embassy was attacked with
petrol bombs
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
and stones.
A similar protest was held in 2003, in the run-up to the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.
[ Several roads in Zinj were barricaded with concrete blocks, and special security forces were frequently seen in the area at night during the 2000s.
The area has undergone extensive commercial development in the 2010s alongside the neighbouring suburb of ]Seqaya Seqaya ( ar, السقية) is a suburb located in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It used to be a village separate from the capital Manama, but rapid urbanization of the city engulfed the village. It is predominantly a residential area and lies close to Sal ...
, with the Galleria mall opening in 2015 in addition to other malls such as Hayat Mall, Tala Plaza and Hala Plaza. New Millennium School-DPS is a notable CBSE school in the area. The Bahrain Writers Association
The Bahrain Writers Association ( ar, أسرة الأدباء والكتاب في البحرين) is a Bahraini professional association for writers. It was established in 1969 and is headquartered in the Zinj neighborhood of Manama. Committed t ...
is based in Zinj.
Sports
Al-Ahli Club and stadium are located in Zinj. Al-Ahli Stadium
Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is the home ground of Al Ahli SC (Doha) and Al-Sailiya SC
Al-Sailiya Sports Club ( ar, نادي السيلية الرياضي) is a Qatari professional football club curr ...
holds League A and B football matches. AlAhli Sports club is also one of the oldest and most respected sports club in the country and region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. The club is famous for winning various regional competitions in football, basketball, and volleyball. The club is also known for nurturing star national football player Ala'a Hubail, who played with Al Ahli football club.
References
{{Neighborhoods of Manama
Neighborhoods of Manama