WHAT TO DO
MAKING A SPLASH
Gulf Life puts on the waterproofs for a visit to Bahrain’s newest waterpark
YOU CAN TELL there’s an Englishman at the helm of Wahooo!. Notices abound with dark warnings about queue-jumping and horse play. Recently opened in Seef’s City Centre Mall, the Gulf’s first indoor/outdoor waterpark is designed as a tropical island. Well organised and staffed with friendly lifeguards, it caters for all ages. Younger customers – or the faint-hearted – can enjoy the timid wave pool and lazy river. Step it up with the Flow Rider, one of the world’s biggest surf machines: just lie on a board and hang on tight. For older children, there are three rides guaranteed to elicit blood-curdling screams. The
Master Blaster is a roller coaster that propels you up and down for a 230-metre stretch, and then deposits you into a pool. Remember to take a tube up with you, as we had to climb down again to get one. The Mat Racer, a 17-metre outdoor four-lane tubular slide, allows you to race friends at high speed to see who shoots out the bottom first. But for the “I’m-going-to-dieany-minute” experience, try the Sidewinder – a U-shaped half-pipe that you zip down lying on a tube, and hurtle up the other side. The G-force prevents you from tipping out. Julia Stuart City Centre Mall, Seef district, www.wahooo.com.bh. Open 10am-10pm daily
LISTINGS
BOWLING
Bowling is big news in Bahrain, and one of the most popular places to play is at Funland. They take their game seriously here, with regular tournaments. There are 18 lanes, so you can keep your distance from the professionals, if you prefer. Non-members pay BD1 during the day and BD1.5 in the evening. Al-Fateh Hwy, Hoora, tel +973 1729 2313. Open 9am-late daily
FISHING
It’s possible to organise motorboat fishing trips through the Ritz-Carlton. Choose from a morning or afternoon at sea, or book a whole day. Equipment is provided. For more information tel +973 1758 0000.
GOLF
Hosts to tournaments including the Gulf Air International Pro-Captain Challenge and the annual IADC Golf Day, Bahrain’s Royal Golf Club is also open to amateurs. There are floodlights on the driving range, the Wee Monty Academy Course and the back 9 holes of the Montgomerie Championship course so players can avoid the daytime heat. And there’s a golf shop with products from the world’s leading suppliers. On New Year’s Day there will be a members-only tournament. Riffa Views, tel +973 1775 0777, www.theroyalgolfclub.com. Open
7.30am-11pm daily
SAILING
Bahrain Sailing Club offers kayaks, windsurfers and powerboats, all for hire by the hour. For the less adventurous there’s a swimming pool and restaurant, as well as a children’s play area. Al-Jazayir Beach, 6km from the Bahrain International Circuit, tel +973 1731 0252, www.bhsailing.com
SCUBA DIVING
The Coral Beach Club runs scuba diving classes. The basic lessons last just a couple of hours. And if that whets your appetite, you can go on to the more advanced class, which takes two to three days. Al-Fateh Hwy, Manama, tel +973 1731 2700, www.coralbeach. bahrain.com
SPA
For the ultimate in hedonistic pleasure head south into the desert for the Middle East’s largest spa and one of the world’s most extensive hydrothermal gardens. The Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort offers a whole range of award-winning therapies, as well as a fantastic garden hammam. It also boasts a top-class restaurant and luxury accommodation in the form of 78 one- and two-bedroom Arabian-style villas, each with its own private courtyard with a swimming pool and jet pool. Al-Areen, tel +973 1784 5000, www.banyantree.com. Open 10am-10pm daily
SWIMMING
The swimming pool at the Sheraton Hotel is open to non-guests. Access costs 250fils per day and includes use of the separate men’s and women’s gym, the spa, the sauna and the steam room. There’s also a temperature-controlled outdoor jacuzzi.
Sheraton Hotel, Palace Avenue, www.starwoodhotels.com. Open 7am-9.30pm daily
JANUARY AT THE BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
This month sees the Batelco 2000cc Challenge blister the tarmac at the Bahrain International Circuit. The event, which takes place on the 8th, is one of the Kingdom’s largest local racing meets and will see Hondas, Fords and BMWs – all modified to squeeze every last drop of horsepower out of the stock engines – line up on the starting grid.
The first of the month’s Karting Championship races takes place on the 7th. It’s a good opportunity to spot the Formula One stars of the future, as many of the world’s best drivers started out on the karting scene. If you can’t make it, there’s another Karting Championship on the 21st.
If the stands are just too far away from the action for your liking, bring your own car – or even bike – down to the Circuit to tackle the same bends as the Formula One stars.
The Bahrain National Drag Racing Championship ends the month, with 80 speed junkies competing in 10 categories in a variety of cars and motorbikes. Bahrain International Cirrcuit, Gulf of Bahrain Avenue, Umm Jidar, www.bahraingp.com
WHAT TO SEE
Julia Stuart meets the Frenchman trying to unravel the mystery of the sacrificed snakes
EXCAVATING is expected to begin again this year at Qalaat Al-Bahrain, one of the Gulf’s most important archaeological sites. Digging stopped in 2004 while scientists helped prepare an application for it to be recognised as a World Heritage Site. It was inscribed on Unesco’s list in 2005.
At the heart of the site is a tell, an artificial hill composed by many successive layers of human occupation from 2200 BC to the 1500s. This was the capital of Dilmun, an ancient civilisation thought to have extended as far as Kuwait and eastern Saudi Arabia. The area was abandoned when the sea channel silted up due to heavy construction at the Portuguese fort, which still dominates the locality today.
The tell was first investigated in 1954 by a Danish expedition, which continued working there until 1972. A French team took over in 1977, working up until 2004. However, only about 15 percent of the site has been excavated.
“It’s very slow to excavate as it’s so dense,” says Dr Pierre Lombard, head of the French Archaeological Mission since 1989. “We are so lucky that all the architecture is stone, which is quite exceptional for this period. In Mesopotamia or Syria, for example, there are a lot of mud bricks. Because the remains are made of stone they are extremely well preserved.”
The team has employed an archaeozoologist, as well as an archaeobotonist, to study the remains of fauna and flora found at the site. “We can obtain a lot of micro remains, so we can see what people were eating and which animals bones are present in certain layers.”
Dr Lombard’s most significant discovery, so far, is a number of texts written on small clay tablets in the Akkadian language, dating from about 1450BC. “They are very important and give us a lot of information, such as names of people from Dilmun and Mesopotamia. Significantly, most of these documents are dated,” says the archaeologist, who heads a research unit at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Lyon, France. The tablets can be seen in the site’s intriguing museum.
The French mission also discovered more of the snake sacrifices that were first unearthed by the Danish. The earthenware pots containing snake skeletons, along with a pearl or bead, date from the 6th century BC. Unique in the world, they too can be seen in the museum. “We know they were probably associated with cultic activities, but we don’t know exactly which kind. Maybe one day we will find a text from the late Dilmun period that will explain it,” says Dr Lombard.
Qalaat Al-Bahrain Site Museum is open 8am-8pm Tue-Sun. Entrance costs 500fils. Tel +973 3979 5100 or +973 3979 6200
LISTINGS
GALLERIES Albareh Art Gallery Albareh showcases leading artists from around the Arab world. This month there’s an exhibition called Iraq: Two Faces, which brings together the work of notable Iraqi artists Faisel Laibi Sahi and Modhir Ahmed who are trying to paint a new picture of their homeland. The café next door, under the same management, is a venue for regular cultural events.
Adliya, tel +973 3906 9016, www.albareh.com. Open 7am-2pm Sun-Thu, 9am-4pm Sat
Bin Matar House
This former family home in Muharraq opened last year following restoration. Built in 1905, it was the permanent majlis of Salman Hussein Bin Matar, one of Bahrain’s most prominent pearl merchants. Today the house is home to a permanent exhibition on the pearling industry, plus contemporary Bahraini art shows. During January it will be showing new sculptures by Khalil Al-Hashimi.
Muharraq, tel +973 1732 2549
La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art
Fatima Alireza has turned her beautiful 150-year-old family home in the heart of Manama into, among other things, a highly respected gallery with regularly changing exhibitions. Until 5 January it hosts work by award-winning Bahraini-born photographer Ghada Khunji, who’s exhibiting in her home country for the first time. The gallery will be closed throughout the rest of the month, although the restaurant and spa remain open. Hoora Avenue, Manama, tel +973 1723 0123, www.lafontaineartcentre.net. Open 10am-6pm Tue-Sun
MUSEUMS Bahrain National Museum Nine seperate exhibition halls detail Bahrain’s history, its growth and development. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions; showing until 12 Feb is “Palestine, Creativity in All Its States,” which brings together work by close to 20 Palestinian artists. The show transfers from the Arab World Institute in Paris. Also, opening this month in the main hall, is “Investing in Culture,” a multimedia exhibition examining issues of Bahraini cultural identity.
King Faisal Highway, tel +973 1729 8777. Open 8am-8pm daily
House of the Quran
Beit Al-Quran contains a unique collection of the Holy Islamic book. It exhibits examples dating from 8th century AD to the present day gathered from all over the Muslim world. The oldest and rarest, written in the first 100 years of Islam, is simply a fragment of a page. Manama, tel +973 1729 0101. Open 8.30am-12.30pm, 4-6pm Sat-Wed; 8.30am-12.30pm Thu
SIGHTSEEING Aali
This village in the centre of the island is home to the Royal Tombs. It’s thought they’re the last resting place of ancient kings and queens. Aali is also famous for pottery workshops.
Al-Areen Wildlife Sanctuary
A conservation area for some of the Arabian peninsular’s native species, like the Arabian Oryx. It also houses animals from around the world. Sakhir, tel +973 1783 6116
King Fahd Causeway
The 24km bridge linking Bahrain with Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most expensive, and has turned into an attraction in its own right. It even has a stop-off point halfway along, where you can grab a bite to eat.
Great Mosque
Al-Fateh Mosque is one of the largest in the world, capable of accommodating over 7,000 worshippers. It is topped by the world’s largest fibreglass dome. Free tours are available but the mosque is closed to visitors on Fridays and holidays. King Faisal Highway, Juffair
Manama Souq
At the heart of the Kingdom is Bab Al-Bahrain, a gateway erected in 1945 where the shoreline stood before land reclamation set in.The gate acts as the entrance to the Souq, which is stuffed to bursting with stores selling everything from electronics to pearls and gold.
Muharraq
Hidden behind ornately carved wooden doors in a maze of whitewashed alleyways, the restored houses of Muharraq (the island neighbourhood near the airport) are one of Bahrain’s most intriguing attractions. There are currently around a dozen homes open to visitors. Highlights include the majestic 200-year-old Shaikh Isa Bin Ali House, which has a wind tower and separate sections for the family, servants, the shaikh and guests. Bin Matar House, once owned by a pearl merchant, has an exhibition on the history of pearling, and hosts regular art exhibitions.
BAHRAIN BY NIGHT
Ask locals where to go for the best nightlife and the answer is Aqua Fuego in Days Hotel (+973 3947 7964). During the week the venue is known as the flame-coloured Fuego, but at the weekend it transforms into the decidedly bluer Aqua club. Equally popular is TaBu in the Phoenicia Tower (+973 1731 1666), which plays an eclectic variety of music. Trader Vic’s, the Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton (+973 1758 6555), is still a firm favourite for all ages, and for good reason. There is outdoor seating in a water garden, and a gold minidress-clad all-female band playing excellent Latin grooves. For more relaxed lounge sounds, slope off to the sumptuous bar at fashionable Japanese eatery Bushido (+973 1758 3555).
WHAT TO EAT
GULF LIFE’S PICK OF BAHRAIN’S TOP TABLES
$$$$$ Super expensive
$$$$ Expensive
$$$ Moderate
$$ Very reasonable
$ Ultra cheap
BUSHIDO
$$$$
A temple-like restaurant set in a water garden with an interior stuffed full of glistening samurai body armour – guess what’s on the menu? Visit for sushi and sashimi, both traditional and with a twist, as well as teppanyaki, and poultry, meat, seafood and vegetarian mains. The quality of the dishes can be variable: starter skewers of scallops and an order of prawn tempura were a bit of a let-down, but mains of grilled black cod with cod roe sauce and tenderloin teppanyaki were terrific. The luxurious first-floor lounge bar is a hugely popular cocktail venue.
Road 38, Block 428, Seef district, Manama, tel +973 1758 3666, www.buddha-bar.com. Open noon-3pm, 7-11.30pm (lounge
1.30am) daily
CAFÉ LILOU
$$
The Al-Ghalia group is behind some of Bahrain’s most fashionable venues, including Mezzaluna, Monsoon and Zoë, all in the Adliya neighbourhood. Lilou is the most casual of the bunch, a light, bright barn of a place with decor that’s part French baroque, part circus big top. The menu is largely made up of Gallic classics presented with Levantine twists. We particularly like the mini coussins au boeuf – bitesize beef burgers served with cheese, balsamic mayonnaise, fries and green salad. Opt for crêpes, chocolate cake or crème brûlée for dessert, or choose an indulgence from the patisserie counter.
Adliya, tel +973 1771 4440, www.alghalia.com. Open 8am-11pm SatThu; 10am-11.30pm Fri
KEN LO’S MEMORIES OF CHINA
$$$$
The late Ken Lo, an international authority on Chinese cuisine, founded the original Memories of China in London back in 1980; the Bahrain outpost opened just last year. Chinese is a vast and varied cuisine, and Memories does its best to cover as many regional specialties as possible, including some great spicy fare from the Szechuan province, plus Cantonese-style dim sum. Adliya, Manama, tel +973 1771 7080. Open noon-3pm, 7pm-midnight daily
LA FONTAINE
$$$
Set in a beautifully renovated old house, La Fontaine is one of the island’s leading art galleries. It also has a suitably gorgeous restaurant that spills out into the central courtyard and around the titular fountain. The kitchen is excellent, serving a menu that places an emphasis on local produce and traditional Bahraini food prepared by one of the Kingdom’s few professional, native chefs. 92 Hoora Avenue, Manama, tel +973 1723 0123, www.lafontaineartcentre.net. Open noon-3pm (lunch), 3-6pm (high tea), 7.30-10.30pm Tue-Sun
LAYALI ZAMAN
$
This is the place to come for fresh, local food with sea views. If it’s cool enough, bag one of the tables on the terrace where turquoise waters shimmer beyond the flower bed. There are traditional grills, salads, pasta and sandwiches on offer. Try the whole grilled fish, which comes with pickled carrots.
Or, if you haven’t eaten for a week, attempt the koshari – macaroni, lentils, chickpeas and caramelised onions. Al-Fateh Corniche, tel +973 1729 3097. Open 10am-4am daily
MEZZALUNA
$$$$
The restaurant that started the Adliya dining boom is still one of the best. It boasts a French head chef, Olivier Pallut, who oversees a menu of beautifully done modern standards from lobster bisque with caviar ravioli to casserole of quail and wild mushroom pot-au-feu. The menu changes regularly. If the main dining room seems a little austere you can always ask to be seated in one of the private booths that ring the room. Adliya, tel +973 1774 2999, www.alghalia.com. Open 6-11.30pm daily
MIRAI
$$$$
In less capable hands it could be a disaster, but the kitchen at Mirai successfully fuses Japanese, Italian and French cuisines. The results include a terrific shrimp popcorn (shrimp in tempura batter) and the restaurant’s excellent signature dish, kalbi gim, which is a Korean/Japanese fusion of slow-braised beef short ribs served with a ginger, apple and soya sauce.
Adliya, tel +973 1771 3113, www.mirai-restaurant.com. Open noon-2.30pm, 7-11pm daily
PLUMS
$$$$S
This excellent steak restaurant gets its name because great use is made of the eponymous fruit in the kitchen, especially in the signature dishes. Starters include oysters and duck foie gras, and mains surf and turf and braised lamb shank. However, Plums is best known for its US prime, Australian gold angus and Japanese Wagyu beef; the Wow Burger – 300g of Wagyu beef, pan-fried foie gras, truffle sauce and caramelised onion-porcini mushroom compote – will set you back $127 plus tax and service charge. Wow indeed. Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Seef, tel +973 1758 0000, www.ritzcarlton.com. Open 7pm until late Mon-Sat
LE RELAIS DE VENISE
$$$
There is only one thing on the menu here: steak frites. This is a franchise of the Paris institution. All the branches – in Paris, London, Barcelona and Manama – are kitted out the same way, right down to the knives and forks. The steak arrives in two halves (the second is kept warm nearby), pre-sliced and bathed in a dark, rich, spicy sauce. Both servings come with golden fries, cooked to perfection. Affordable, high-quality cuisine served in bountiful portions. L’Hotel, Seef district, Manama, tel +973 1756 7222, www.lhotelbahrain.com. Open noon-3.30pm, 7-11.30pm daily
SAFFRON
$$$$
Saffron is the house restaurant of the exclusive Banyan Tree resort, the island’s most beautiful retreat, which is down in Al-Areen. It sits at the centre of a body of water and is accessed by a bridge, while the desert stretches away in the background – a total fantasy setting. The food is contemporary Thai and is excellent. It may not be the easiest place to get to, but this is one of the Kingdom’s finest dining experiences.
Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort, Al-Areen, tel +973 1784 5000, www.banyantree.com. Open
6.30-11pm daily
SATO
$$$$
This ever-popular Japanese restaurant is definitely the place to book if you want to impress someone. Sit in one of the teppanyaki rooms and watch pure culinary theatre unfold as the chef juggles ingredients and utensils, and catches eggs on the top of his hat. The food is just as captivating.
Gulf Hotel, Manama, tel +973 1774 6429, www.gulfhotel.bahrain.com. Open noon-3pm, 7-11pm daily
THAILAND
$$
Don’t let the unappetising exterior put you off. Kick off your shoes and sit down at one of the sunken tables upstairs and feast on a wide range of fresh, invigorating and thoroughly excellent Thai and Chinese food. Opt for the tom yum soup or papaya salad as a starter, followed by split steamed prawns in garlic, lemongrass and ginger, and sticky rice with mango for dessert, and you won’t go wrong. Friendly staff in traditional garb appear at the press of a button.
Adliya, tel +973 1771 7040.
Open noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight daily
THE SKY CHEF* RECOMMENDS
SKY CHEF OLIVIER PALLUT ON HIS FAVOURITE BAHRAIN RESTAURANT
“I really like Mezzaluna. The chef, Olivier Pallut, used to be a Sky Chef. He puts his heart into it and changes his menu regularly. The food is Mediterranean and it’s original and fresh. My wife is Filipina and we really enjoy Swan Lake (+973 1722 7761), an authentic Filipino restaurant at Bab Al-Bahrain. Filipino food is not for everybody, though. It’s a combination of sweet and sour, and odd ingredients. They do a variety of seafood cooked with coconut. The kare kare (tripe with peanut sauce and aubergine) is good. Try the halo-halo. It’s crushed ice with condensed milk, jelly, sweet beans, ice cream and crème caramel. It sounds odd but it’s very good.”
Before joining Gulf Air as a Sky Chef, Laurent Juste was a pastry chef for London Savoy hotel
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