Four Hours at Bahrain National Museum

7th July 2016 - Bahrain National Museum

I love museums of all kinds and this National Museum is a must-visit for all those who appreciate art and are passionate about knowing more about the early civilization and history of a region.

This museum claims to be a repository of 6000 years of Bahrain's history. It is open for the public from 8 am to 8 pm every day and the entry cost is 1 Bahraini Dinar for non-citizens. This is the main cultural landmark of Bahrain which showcases:

• Art galleries
• Graves
• Dilmun (one of the oldest civilizations in the Middle East)
• Customs and traditions of Bahrain
• Tylos and Islam 
• Trades and crafts
• Documents and manuscripts

My favourites were the Dilmun, Tylos, trades and crafts and the documents and manuscripts. We were given a booklet which is like a guide to what you can expect in the museum. I won't go into the details as it is worth a visit if you ever go to Bahrain.

On this day, I got to know that F also likes to "actually" take time at each counter and read the descriptions and notes. It is imperative to visit a museum with a partner who shares the same love, else he or she will be on your toes to hurry up and all you will do is skim through the pieces and exit without enriching your knowledge.

 A restored 1932 Buick was given to Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa by the American government. Donated to the Museum in 1992.

After almost 2 hours of going through each section diligently, I was exhausted by the time we reached the Documents and Manuscripts section. The contents there went way over my head which was the sign that we needed a break. So we took a short break to refuel our brains at the museum's in-house cafe, Darseen Cafe which served the best Falafel Roll I ever had.

The best Falafel rolls are served at Darseen Cafe inside the Museum. 

 

The Documents and Manuscripts section gave me goosebumps as it has some of the oldest manuscripts including the letter that our Prophet (saw) sent to the then governor of Bahrain. 

I usually never click pictures inside a museum and most of them don't allow photography. This one did not have any such restrictions but you will not feel like doing it either as it just distracts others and your focus on the train of related content that needs your attention.

However, I have a few pictures that I had to click as a takeaway souvenir!

The customs and traditions section had life-size replicas of early trades and occupations. I photographed only this one! Let me know if you can sight something in this picture that caught my eyes too! No prizes for guessing right! LOL!

Apparently the oldest form of world map. Read the below text image for more details. 

This sculpture depicts what Bahrain was popular for - pearl diving. There was a lot of mention about pearl diving and how it was done in the early days. 

 

By the time we got out of the Bahrain National Museum, we realized we had spent almost 4 to 5 hours and my legs started to cry. Off we went back to the hotel room and chillaxed. 😛

End of Day 2.
Day 3 was the best of all because I got to have the best breakfast! 

As usual, the bold words and phrases are linked to the best resources for further reading.