Touring Bahrain

That past few days have filled my brain with information, excitement, and confusion; however, it would comfort most of you to know that I am completely and utterly enjoying myself here on this island which feels so much like and extended vacation. A couple days ago the school offered us a bus tour of Bahrain, which Emily and I were quick to get excited in hopes of seeing the cultural aspects and history this country has to offer.

Our first stop on the bumpy, dusty tour was Bahrain's Grand Mosque. The building was a sandy yellow color with tall towers and a massive dome - which seemed to be the center of the building. To see something so religious as this and to know that it is not related to Christianity gives a humbling feeling. My eyes were opened to the fact that such a smaller percentage of the world are Christians and that I would soon we walking through a place of worship for several thousands of Bahraini citizens. As I walked in the first thing I noticed was that the women and the men were being separated by a nice older looking woman switching back and forth from english and arabic saying, “Women to the right, men to the left.” Was Emily not allowed in the mosque? What's going on? At some other junction I might have been more concerned for the fact that Emily was being taken into a small room with a bunch of other women, but I was quick to be distracted by the architecture of this amazing place of worship. She would be fine!

First things first – we had to remove our shoes. One of the primary social rules here in Bahrain is that you do not to show the bottom of your shoes to anyone else. Its a sign of disrespect – all day you walk around on filth and if you can't respect someone enough to keep your soles pointed down then what kind of a person are you, anyway? That's the mentality here, so naturally we couldn't were our shoes with the filthy soles into one of the holiest places in Bahrain. It wasn't discomforting at all, made me feel as though I was a part of the culture. Emily came of the women's room fully dressed in her hijab. She actually didn't mind. “I would never have to worry about what to wear, or how to do my hear, but man its hot,” haha. She looked beautiful actually and I am sure enjoyed wearing it for the hour or so that we were walking.

I walked around for several minutes admiring and snapping pictures of architecture so profoundly intricate, yet simple in all aspects of the word. No statues, no pictures, no plants, nothing decorating the walls except verses of the Quran. We were walking around an open atrium which was directly outside of the main...sanctuary? Place of worship? Mosque? I am sure there is a proper name, but at the moment it escapes me. In a grand building, with glass bulbs for their lights, marble floors, stone pillars, massive doors weighing tons, it was all so incredibly simple that I was impressed with how muslims seek only the foundation of their religion. They are without any fluff to distract them – no figure heads, no single person to pray to, except Allah. I am not considering converting, but I had to appreciate the simpleness of their religion in theory, not in practice of course.

The next stop was the Bahrain National Museum. Nothing very exciting to write concerning the museum except the fact that Bahrain is constantly making the island bigger; bringing in massive amounts of sand to build man-made portions of the island. The Grand Mosque was originally built near the water, and now the coast rests miles away. Its funny how the government, and rich individuals, want to build, build, build; however, there are not enough people to occupy what is currently finished, and there will without a doubt not be enough to occupy all that is under construction. The last stop was the formula one race track. I can't begin to describe how massive this place seems. It is only used for one week of the year, but is probably one of the most expensive construction projects ever tackled by anyone in Bahrain. Unbelievable, and I will just leave it at that. It was a great tour with a long, much appreciated nap that followed almost immediately.