Manama

Photo by Jarek Pokrzywnicki.

Manama, City of Trade, Multiculturalism and Religious Coexistence is part of the Tentative list of Bahrain in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List.

Bahrain’s capital Manama has been an international maritime trade town since the late 19th century. This led to the influx of immigrants mostly from the wider British empire who brought their own shops and religious centers. They also influenced the style of architecture.

Map of Manama

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The coordinates shown for all tentative sites were produced as a community effort. They are not official and may change on inscription.

Community Reviews

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Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Polska - 17-Nov-18 -

Manama, City of Trade, Multiculturalism and Religious Coexistence (T) by Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Just returned (November 2018) from short Bahrain trip. While in Bahrain you have to see Manama center as the majority of hotels / hostels, car rentals or bus terminals are there.

I have a lot of doubts for any future inscription of this site. Historical places and buildings like Bab al Bahrain, located nearby old post office or old court (that you can see on the photo) seem to be well maintained but in my opinion they do not constitude any integrity. Unfortunately they are surrounded by completely new sky scrapers. Old souqs may be old but all the shops look also very modern. Older buildings - at least those to the east of Bab al Bahrain - does not look very special, just typical as in any other cities in the Gulf Region.

Seeing first old quarters of Muharraq city wandering through Manama streets was somehow dissapointing. In fact even comparing different cities in the area I found central district of Muscat (with its many historical buildings, forts, sultan's palace and different ministries) much more interesting than Manama.

But anyway it can be nice experience to walk through Manama souqs mainly due to its multinational character


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