Visitors to Bahrain have a wealth of historic sites to choose from, including forts and museums, famous homes and mosques, and ancient burial grounds. People often start with the country’s National Museum or the Bahrain Fort, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The museum’s many exhibits showcase artifacts, documents, and local traditions from the Bronze Age through the present day. Start here for an excellent overview of Bahraini history as a whole. Bahrain Fort (Qal’at al-Bahrain) on the outskirts of the capital provides physical evidence of the island’s inhabitants over the ages. The Dilmun Empire adopted this spot as its capital and port around 2000 BCE, for instance. Later, it became a strategic fortress in the Tylos and Islamic eras, before the Portuguese constructed the current fort in the 16th century.
But this small island, nestled next to Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, holds so much more! It boasts a total of *three* UNESCO World Heritage Sites, along with well-preserved examples of ancient temples and royal residences. If you get the chance, you must visit the four sites detailed below.
Thank you to my good friend Jen Boutz for her help with this post. Jen has visited all of these Bahraini sites, and her ideas and pictures were invaluable as I drafted this piece. Check out her fantastic photos!
The Pearling Path
This UNESCO World Heritage Site testifies to Bahrain’s long tradition of pearl gathering. With 15 different stops, the Pearling Path is a 2-mile trail through the city of Muharraq, north of the capital. The path meanders past three oyster beds, a seashore port, and eleven sets of buildings. The government has preserved and renovated these historic structures, which include the homes of ship captains and traders, their storehouses, shops, and mosques.
Pearl gathering was vital to Bahrain, making it a trade hub that attracted ships and divers from around the Gulf. The tradition began centuries ago and flourished until the early 20th century and the discovery of oil. These newly restored sites beautifully document the history and influence of pearling in the region. A visitor center further enhances the experience, introducing visitors to the trail and its diverse locations.
Dilmun Burial Mounds
For historic sites in Bahrain, another must-see is the Dilmun Burial Mounds. An astonishing 12,000 mounds stretch across 21 sites in western Bahrain. Built by the Dilmun civilization between 2200-1750 BCE, these mounds vary in size, but are generally 15-30 feet in diameter and 3-6 feet high. In each case, dirt and gravel cover a stone chamber, which housed the deceased and a few artifacts — pottery, baskets, small weapons.
Selected in 2019 as Bahrain’s third UNESCO World Heritage Site, the burial mounds provide detailed evidence of the ancient Dilmun civilization. Based on excavations here and elsewhere, we believe the Dilmun were important traders linking the Middle East and South Asia. The mounds and the artifacts found inside reveal not only an elaborate burial tradition, but also a complex social structure with lower, upper, and ruling classes. The larger mounds also include a small alcove off the main chamber, a unique architectural feature in this era.
Saar Heritage Park
Saar Heritage Park gives us a deeper look into the Dilmun civilization. This archaeological site includes several cemeteries and the ruins of a full settlement with streets and alleys, multi-roomed homes, and a small temple. Scholars and archaeologists have spent considerable time studying this temple, whose design appears to indicate the date of the summer solstice. Excavations have also found numerous stone tools, pottery, woven baskets, and fragments of copper tools.
A special feature of the Saar site is the difference between its cemeteries. In some areas, the graves feature the individual burial mounds documented earlier. However in other cases, the graves interlock with each other, sharing a wall in a unique honeycomb shape (see picture above).
Shaikh Isa bin Ali House
A list of historic sites in Bahrain has to include the Shaikh Isa bin Ali House as well. This residence, built around 1800, was originally the home of Hassan bin Abdallah, grandson of Ahmed al-Fatih who ended Persian rule on the island and launched the Al Khalifa dynasty. Later, from 1869 until the 1930s, Shaykh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa used the house as his royal residence and the center of government, giving the building the name it holds today.
The house fills a full city block, with living quarters, guest rooms and other spaces built around a number of large enclosed courtyards. Visitors can marvel at the architectural details as they wander through the maze of rooms and corridors, or look at a small collection of photos documenting the history of the building.
What Next?
Want to learn more about these sites and others? Start with the comprehensive Destinations page of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. Then consult Bahrain’s section of the UNESCO website, which has more details of its three World Heritage Sites, as well as other places Bahrain would like to nominate in the future. Of course, if you have the chance to visit Bahrain, nothing beats a trip to these historic sites in person! Each one is easily accessible from the capital, whether you hire a guide or travel there yourself.
And join the conversation — tell us what you thought of these sites! Which were your favorite places and why? What facts surprised you? What other places in Bahrain would you like to visit or learn about? Drop a note in the comments section below or send me an email here.
Lastly, be sure to explore the other places and things we’ve profiled here on the blog. We’ve studied the brilliant illustrations of the Persian Book of Kings, traveled to a desert oasis in western Algeria, marveled at powerful examples of street art in Amman, and enjoyed the diverse articles and resources of the free magazine and website AramcoWorld. Go ahead, check out these old posts now!
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