Pearls, saffron markets and fine art: this Middle Eastern city should be on your radar
A lifelong love affair with pearls and an adolescent obsession with horses collided when I visited the Kingdom of Bahrain, a small but significant island in the Gulf. 'I adore it, it's coming back with me,' I texted home. 'What, the horse?' came the response from Dublin, in a message tinged with panic after my WhatsApp messages flooded with photos of my glorious sunset beach ride.
Moon, the gentle Arabian mare who looked after me as I got back in the saddle after a gap of several decades, stayed behind when it was time for me to leave. I did, however, bring home an indulgent purchase: a beautiful piece of jewellery featuring four tiny natural pearls, harvested from oysters gathered by hand by divers in Bahraini waters.
Before the discovery of oil there in 1932, commercial pearl fishing was a cornerstone of Bahrain's economy. The island kingdom's gems are held in high regard for their remarkable lustre, thought to result from the confluence of seawater and freshwater from natural springs under the Gulf. In the past, teams of divers went to sea in traditional dhows for periods of up to three months in the summer season, returning with pearls to trade on international markets.
So sought-after were Bahraini pearls that in 1912 Jacques Cartier, scion of the luxury jewellery house, travelled there to source supplies of what were at the time the world's most expensive gems. To this day Maison Cartier retains a presence on the island, providing on loan a revolving collection of its archive pieces for display at the national Pearl Museum. When I visited, the display included several exquisite antique watches, combining the house's horology finesse with pearl and diamond casings and bracelets.
The museum is the final stop on the Pearling Path, a 3.5km trail and Unesco world heritage site where visitors can learn about pearls, beginning with the oyster beds where they are created in a quirk of nature, to the people whose livelihood they provided, from divers to merchants, and how they lived. There are 17 'houses' or historic structures to be explored on the trail, which winds through the narrow alleys of Muharraq, the old capital of Bahrain.
International trade in pearls changed for ever in the 1930s, however, when Japanese technology made possible the cultivation of farmed pearls, flooding the market. To protect its natural pearl tradition and trade, cultivated pearls are banned in Bahrain. The natural variety is still highly prized in world markets, with the price of a single large pearl of high quality reaching many thousands of euros. Licensed professional and amateur divers are active in Bahrain waters and tourists can join a scuba dive or snorkel excursion — and keep their catch, if they are lucky.
Today, the petroleum industry is the main source of Bahrain's wealth. The country's rapid development is evident from the soaring architecture dominating the skyline as seen from the saddle as Moon and I meander along a dedicated horse riding path on a pristine beach, just a few minutes' drive from the capital, Manama.
Nothing could have prepared me for this island's exquisite beauty, with incredibly clear turquoise seas and white sandy shores never far from view. Here, as we cool off with a wade into the shallow sea, comparisons come to mind with further-flung island nations such as the Maldives. Bahrain has a total of 84 islands, of which 33 are natural and 51 man-made, through reclamation. The kingdom's 1.6 million inhabitants live mainly in the north of the country, which in its entirety is just 48km long by 16km wide.
Beauty is also all around me when I join a small group guided tour at the non-profit RAK Art Foundation, the personal collection and working studio of the artist Rashid Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahraini royal family. It is situated in his childhood family home in Riffa, a 20-minute drive from Manama. Car hire and taxis are both very inexpensive, with a taxi or Uber costing about €12 each way.
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The extensive collection, displayed in a series of adapted and specially designed spaces and pavilions, both indoors and outdoors, includes works by internationally renowned artists including Damien Hirst, Yves Klein, Bridget Riley and Bernard Buffet, as well as Khalifa himself. It is a mesmerisingly beautiful place and a memorable and thought-provoking collection. Free guided tours, running from Monday to Wednesday, must be booked online in advance (rakartfoundation.com).
The body must be nurtured as well as the spirit and the soul, and there are plenty of dining options in Bahrain — from glitzy rooftop restaurants to waterside bistros and cafés, as well as international chains aplenty in the many shopping malls, and more traditional choices too. At the Ritz-Carlton, where I stayed, there are no fewer than 17 different dining options, from Mexican, Japanese, Thai, Italian and Indian speciality restaurants to outdoor cafés and a sushi bar on the private beach.
On my first night in town, at the Bahrain outpost of the Japanese restaurant group Roka, on the top floor of the Pearl House in Bahrain Harbour, I eat sushi, rock shrimp tempura with spicy mayo, and sweetcorn with smoked butter and sobacha salt from the robata grill, and drink a delicious chardonnay. Though it is a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is widely available — at a price — in Bahrain.
Another standout is dinner at Astéria, a new fine-dining Greek restaurant in an area with the rather utilitarian name of Block 338, which is dedicated to nightlife and eating out. With two sleek dining rooms decorated in cool neutral tones, as well as a bar with live music, this is a hip and happening spot with an extensive menu of refined modern Greek food and a global wine list. The highlight of my meal here is a clever take on profiteroles, with Greek coffee, coffee ice cream, and coffee powder administered from a giant peppermill.
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Time Out Market arrived in Bahrain recently, in City Centre Mall, adjacent to Le Méridien hotel. The 13 outlets here serve a global menu of Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Lebanese, Thai, South and North American dishes. We stay local and order chicken mathrooba, a Bahraini comfort food dish of gently spiced chicken and rice cooked low and slow until it becomes a gelatinous porridge, much tastier than it sounds.
At Cipriani, the Italian restaurant brand with outposts all over the world, from Mexico to Marbella, I slip into holiday mode and feel as if I could be anywhere. In the vast, glamorous dining room on the beach at Marassi Beach, I tuck into flawless calamari and prawn fritti with the lightest whisper of a coating, and a perfect espresso macchiato.
But experiencing the Bahraini food — an amazing variety of breads and dips, grilled meats, fish and veg, and a myriad of softly spiced rice dishes — is a highlight of my stay. The meal I enjoy most in my four-day city break in Bahrain is a late breakfast at Danat Al Tawawish, a traditional Bahraini restaurant in Manama's souk. Hot pillowy flatbreads arrive with which to scoop up gently spiced chickpea masala. There is more of that delicious bread, fried this time and sandwiched with mahyawa, a paste made with fermented fish, and we with it we drink saffron juice dotted with chia seeds.
After breakfast, my wonderful travel guide Husain (a former chef) takes me to the spice merchant in Little India where he shops for his own kitchen, and I stock up on Iranian saffron and a big bag of a Bahraini spice blend, made in-house to a secret recipe. It is heady with turmeric, black pepper, cloves, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, star anise … and something else indefinable. Whenever I want to remember this wonderful trip, I will pull that bag out of my larder, inhale its deep, complex aroma and be right back there.
There are a great many internationally recognised luxury hotel groups in Bahrain, but the Ritz-Carlton is one of the originals and is highly regarded as a grande dame of the upper levels of hospitality there. The seven-storey, 260-room resort is set on 20 acres with a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, a private beach, a flamingo lagoon, and its own desert island. Rooms are compact but luxurious, and the location, just 11km from the airport and 3km from Manama city centre, is excellent. A deluxe twin room in May starts from BD100 (€235).
Bahrain has lots of big, modern shopping malls lined with international brands, where prices at the clothing brand Zara, for example, are a little higher than in Ireland. More interesting is the shopping for local crafts, jewellery, textiles and pottery, as well as spices and dates. The Manama souk is a good source of locally made and imported crafts. Just behind it, you can wander the streets of Little India in search of spices, condiments, dates and dried fruits.
Marie-Claire Digby travelled as a guest of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority. The sunset beach ride was organised through Kashta Tours (kashtatours.com) and costs BD7 (€16) for one hour
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