Day 34 - Bahrain

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Today… I wore jeans. 😊 To start out the tour of the Grand Mosque, Augusta had to change into an abaya and we had to take off our shoes. They also gave us some juice while we waited for our tour guide.

Ezra was our tour guide. She was very friendly (as was everyone there that we met or came across). The Grand Mosque (as all mosques in Bahrain) was built and continues to be funded by the Bahrain government. The mosque was built with materials all over the world… Italy, Canada (I think), and other countries. Its capacity is 7,000 worshippers, but often overflows into the parking lot on special occasions.

The mosque itself is not too old… I think she said 16 or 17 years. Minarets, a courtyard, and domes are part of traditional architecture and not required. Worshippers are considered equal, and even the king (if he is late) will line up wherever the line is at the time.

The men pray on the bottom floor, the women on the top… Ezra said this is so everyone can focus on their prayers instead of the opposite sex.

Muslims pray five times a day… once around 4 am, then at sunrise, at noon, shortly after dusk (I think) and then at night. They do not pray at sunset in order to differentiate Islam from religions that worship the sun… those religions apparently pray to the sun at sunrise and sunset. Prayers take about five minutes each, so she said 25 minutes a day is not burdensome. Also, they pray towards Mecca, and the prayer area is constructed facing in that direction.

Overall, it was a very good, friendly tour. At the end, they had many booklets related to Islam and we got a few to learn more about it. The mosque itself is very worth visiting and the architecture is outstanding. Plus, we got to learn and understand more about Islam.

After that we had lunch at Johnny Rockets and some very good American food. Kai, as always, was a little star around the place. The staff picked him up and carried him around twice, fed him oreos, and took pictures with him. We also talked to our Filipino waiter for awhile about the Philippines.

We then drove out to A’Ali, a little town known for its pottery. However, after driving and doubling back for awhile, we found the town but not the pottery place. So, we headed home.

After Augusta picked up Shawn from work we went to the mall to eat dinner. We also went to the pharmacy for me to get some amoxicillin… nothing related to Bahrain (which more sanitary than a lot of places of been). I’ve just had a kind of recurring illness for over a year now (every one or two months)… and I think it is likely bacterial. So, for about $8 and without a prescription, I got 20 tablets at 500 milligrams each.

For the night, we relaxed and I watched a bit of TV… and also the movie “Office Space” which in my mind is an American classic and hits a lot of things on the head regarding behavior common in the corporate environment. Very funny movie.

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Photos

Residential Architecture - 1
The architecture here utilizes concrete... but integrates numerous shapes and angles. Usually, the houses have earth tone colors and tinted windows (probably to keep out the sun/heat).

Colorful Buildings
Bahrain has some beautiful architecture. Most of it works with earth tones. The buildings here stood out to me because of their bright colors.

Residential Architecture - 2
Most of the average size houses have walls around them. In Bahrain, there are many house complexes that are massive and enclosed. I'm told that often three generations will all be living together, hence the need for so much space. Plus, some have multiple houses to accomadate multiple wives... all which must be treated equally by their husband (so, often, the houses are identical).