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Arrived in Bahrain Thursday morning about 3 am half an hour before schedule as the aircraft, a new Airbus 340, took off 20 minutes early. Etihad board early and go as soon as they can. Frank and Frances very kindly got out of their bed and met us at the airport; they were there early as they had nearly missed flights themselves because of the "go" policy.
Friday morning we slept in being a bit jet lagged after the 14and a half hours of the trip. Friday is the main and only holiday of the week for the local workers nearly all of whom are Bangladeshies, local arabs basically don't have to work. Expats also get Saturday off Sunday is a normal working day for all.
F&F took us out for lunch to a fairly new luxury resort, The Banyan Tree, in the middle of the island fairly close to the Grand Prix centre. We dined in luxury chosing the smorgasbord with wine included - so much to choose from seafoods including yabbies, prawns, oysters, all kinds of japanese and asian fish dishes as well as local delicacies, traditional English fare ie roast lamb and the most amazing array of little sweets and desserts. We ate degustation style over three hours, each time you emptied your plate it was taken and new cutlery arrived. We returned home about seven and after a coffee went to bed at eight and after nearly 12 hous of sleep we arose for some time in the gym and a swim in the pool.
F&F have a lovely two storey rented house in a quiet street in the better part of town. The compound and land is quite large, a little larger than home say 800 sqm, and has gardens all around the walls and a large area of grass with a good sized in-ground pool. The land adjoining to the rear is undeveloped with palm trees and the whole compound is private allowing nude swimming in this very prudish country. Men cannot be nude in changing rooms and shower with swimmers on even in men only change rooms! There are people to make sure you don't offend!
Saturday we have a 9.30 start as everything shuts down at 1.00 for a three hour siesta/lunch. Also some go to the mosques at 11.30 not to return untill 4.00. We were nearly locked in a museum at 12.15, Frank who had already been to the museum was outside when he say the attendant putting the padlock on the external door while we 3 were still inside!. That could have been lots of fun! Di can tell you about he Museums being an expert on such matters.
We visited the old part of town, Muharraq, which has some buildings restored. Our first stop was a new building (Italian designed) on the site of the house of one of the wealthy pearl merchants. Bahrain is famous for its natural pearls and was a very strategic trading port from 600AD, although there is evidence of people living here for over 7000 years. We next visited the Shaikh Isa Bin Ali House, a large compound with 3 internal courtyards - family living quarters upstairs, servants quarters and business areas downstairs. There is a badqeer, wind tower, designed to allow the wind to come into the house no matter which way it was blowing. There was also some fine stone tracery and thick carved wooden doors and shutters; the house being built of traditional materials such as sea stone, plaster and palm logs. We visited 3 other places of interest - the Handcraft centre showing how the women weave the gold thread, the children's library and the Bahrain Reading Room which was the site where the avant garde met in the 1930's and outspoken newspapers were published. This is were we were almost locked inside!! The Bangladeshie doorman had a job to lock the door - didn't matter if someone was still inside - he wanted to go home!!
We also visited Frank's new office and had a tour of the 2 floors of the First Energy Bank - very impressive!! But like so much else around here unfinished and a continuing tale of incompetent, untrained, ignorant workers exploited by the locals!
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