Bahrain and local news

Article from the Daily Telegraph:

I went to the Middle East’s most pro-British country – what I found took me by surprise.

The region is far more than a conflict zone, as a visit to the ancient treasures of Bahrain proved

By SIMON HEFFER

2 March 2024

Because, sadly, we now seem primarily to regard the Middle East as a place of conflict we often forget its importance as a cradle of civilisations. Egypt has the pyramids; Saudi Arabia has Islamic shrines; Israel sites sacred to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths; and Syria and Jordan have, not least, extensive Roman remains, though how well these have survived the appalling civil war in the former is unclear.

Another nation with a rich cultural past is Bahrain, probably the most pro-British country in the region, which I had the good fortune to visit recently. The kingdom has several Unesco World Heritage sites, the most arresting of which is the protected landscape known as Qal’at al-Bahrain. Its centrepiece is a magnificent desert fort and historic harbour, adjoining some pearl-fishing grounds, and one of the Persian Gulf’s commercial hubs for nearly 5,000 years. 

Archaeology in Bahrain remains a work in progress. British practitioners have worked there with local experts, and centuries of sand accumulations on this coast continue to be excavated in the hope of finding ancient shipwrecks. The main work was done by two major archaeological missions, one from Denmark in the 1950s and another from France in the 1970s. These missions began excavating not just within the perimeter of the fort, but in a substantial adjacent site that, almost 70 years after the first explorations, now reveals a complex urban plan of alleys and houses dating from about 2050 BC – the home of the first civilisation recorded in Bahrain, the Dilmun.

The fort itself is much later, but was effectively abandoned for more than 250 years until 20th-century Bahrain began to take a deep interest in its past. It comprises three large buildings, the earliest of which dates from the 15th century. It was the work of the princes of Hormuz, a dynasty from what is now southern Iran. Shortly after expanding the fort to cope with the development of artillery, the Hormuzi were driven out by the Portuguese, who created a well-defended trading post; at that time, they led the world in sea exploration and commerce. Scholars have detected Italian, and especially Genoese, styles in the main bastions dating from the 1560s. This is attributed to aesthetic influences brought to bear on the architect Inofre de Carvalho. 

'An intensely culturally significant part of the Persian Gulf': Bahrain Fort
‘An intensely culturally significant part of the Persian Gulf’: Bahrain Fort CREDIT: John Engel/Alamy Stock Photo

The fort was, though, soon a white elephant. Silting-up meant that by the second half of the 16th century, Portuguese vessels had to moor over a mile from the protection of the fort. This led to its abandonment, making its survival into the 21st century, and in such excellent condition, all the more remarkable. Most of the main bastions of the fort remain intact, as do several of its rooms – all with gunports.

The main trade routes from the Gulf led to India and to China, explaining why much Ming pottery has been discovered around the fort. To its south is a much older construction: a Bronze Age city wall built by the Dilmuns, also in about 2050 BC. Their civilisation lasted until about 500 BC, when the Greek, or Hellenistic, civilisation supplanted it. These cultures are reflected in the fine modern museum, by the Scandinavian architects Wohlert, devoted to items found in and around this site since systematic excavations began in 1954. It lies in view of the fort, divided from it by a site of several acres where detailed archaeological investigations continue. Much of its ceramic exhibitions are of Islamic vessels from Persia, Iraq, Syria and Oman; but also displayed are parts of a 310-coin hoard of silver tetradrachms found by the city wall and in its design imitating the coinage of Alexander the Great, from the 2nd century BC.

The museum also contains figurative gravestones from the Hellenistic period, Sumerian carvings, ancient Indian cups, Bronze Age jars, Babylonian cuneiform tablets and a fine collection of figurines of bearded men from the first millennium BC. It is a crash course in the multiplicity of civilisations of this small, but intensely culturally significant, part of the Persian Gulf and, with excavations continuing as Bahrain becomes more fascinated by its past, there is doubtless far more to come.

16th December 2023:

Today we celebrate the National Day of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Please download the congratulatory letter to H M the King from our Chairman Mrs. Heather Harper, MBE.

28th September 2023:

Today, HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh visited the British School of Bahrain.

Full details are here:

30th August 2023:

Alastair Long, the new British Ambassador to Bahrain presented his credentials to Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

Please open the link below to view the press release.

Bahrain Press Release

8th August, 2023:

The Society is pleased to unveil our new logo that will accompany all future communications.

23rd May, 2023:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London has announced the appointment of Mr Alastair Long as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain in succession to Mr Roderick Drummond.

Further details can be accessed on this link.

20th April, 2023:

His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, The Ambassador with Chairman of the Bahrain Society Heather Harper MBE and the Embassy Team at the Inter Faith Iftar hosted by the Bahrain Embassy at the Regents Park Mosque.

23rd March, 2023:

The Committee are delighted to welcome Mrs. Dawn Nasser as a new member to the Committee. Her experience and relations with Bahrain will be of great use.

New Year Honours 2023 Overseas and International List: Order of the Bath and Order of the British Empire

The Society offers congratulations for the following awards.

Paula Boast, vice-chairwoman of the Bahrain British Business Forum, is made MBE for services to UK-Bahrain business relations.

Ewan Robert Reekie, chieftain of the British Caledonian Society Awali, is awarded the BEM for services to the British community in Bahrain.

Christopher Ian Woodrow, chairman of the British Club Bahrain, is also  awarded the BEM for services to the British community in Bahrain.

Letter to members October 2023

Please read the attached letter from our Chairman Mrs. Heather Harper, MBE.

Message to all members | The Bahrain Society

AGM 11th October 2022

After three years that saw COVID and the various lockdowns, finally the Committee were able to have a meeting followed by the AGM where all accounts were presented and of course the main news was the change of Chairman from Brigadier Peter Sincock to Mrs. Heather Harper.

After the formalities about 70 members and their guests enjoyed a convivial evening on HQS Wellington ably organised by Ian Grimshaw and a full report is under the AGM and Buffet Dinner tab on the web page.

AGM 11th April 2019

The AGM proved a great success. We had more people attending than we have for many years. We all had a welcome glass of wine or soft drink of choice before the meeting and after the meeting there was a large quantity of excellent sandwiches and a bar at Army and Navy Club prices. Members took the opportunity to chat and the general conclusion was that it was a great event.

Newsletter – Summer 2016

Diary of our trip to Bahrain May 2016

Newsletter – Winter 2015/16

Newsletter – Summer 2015

Newsletter – Spring 2015

Newsletter – Winter 2014/15