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Manama offers a remarkably diverse shopping landscape. Guides note that Bahrain is in something of a “shopping frenzy,” with new malls springing up and even old souqs being refreshed. The city’s multicultural population – Bahrainis alongside many Gulf and expatriate communities – means the retail options span local and international tastes. For modern-style shopping, the biggest centers include Al A’ali Mall and Seef Mall (in the Seef District) and Dana Mall and The Bahrain Mall (in Sanabis). The newest landmark is City Centre Bahrain (opened 2008). Still, more modest venues also serve residents – for example, Yateem Centre sits amid Manama’s old souq, and Lulu Hypermarket complexes or small malls serve outlying neighborhoods.
In the Seef District, the shopping experience begins with Al A’ali Mall. Opened in 1996 as the first big retail complex in Seef, Al A’ali was envisioned as a high-end destination. Its three floors (totaling about 52,000 m²) combine contemporary and traditional Arabic design elements – a fact its owners emphasize. The mall has five separate entrances and parking for some 600 cars, and is conveniently located near the airport and King Fahad Causeway. Inside, Al A’ali intentionally evokes the feel of an old-style souk: a glazed roof lets natural light fall on storefronts framed by carved wooden doors, and souvenir carts line the airy walkways.
Just east of Al A’ali lies Seef Mall, opened in 1997. Often billed as Bahrain’s first fully enclosed shopping center, Seef Mall spans roughly 135,000 m² and houses about 315 stores. It is known for its distinctive architecture and lively family atmosphere. Anchor tenants include international fashion and home-ware brands (Marks & Spencer, H&M, Sun & Sand Sports, etc.) and a large Carrefour supermarket. The mall was planned as a family hub: on the lower level is an indoor amusement park called “Magic Island” (equipped with rides and playgrounds), plus baby-care facilities, and there is a combination 16-screen cinema (a six-screen Cineplex and ten-screen Megaplex). By evening, parents might shop while kids laugh in the play area. In short, Seef Mall remains a premier family shopping and entertainment destination.
City Centre Bahrain is the largest mall on the island, a sprawling mixed-use complex in Seef opened in 2008. It occupies about 160,000 m² of retail space and hosts roughly 350 shops (including Zara, Debenhams, and a huge Carrefour hypermarket). But City Centre is designed as more than a mall – it is an all-in-one leisure complex. Among its attractions is Wahooo! Waterpark (a 15,000 m² indoor/outdoor park – the first of its kind in the region) and the Cineco 20 cinema (20 screens, the largest cineplex in Bahrain). The mall also contains a “Magic Planet” family entertainment center for children. City Centre even integrates two hotels (a Westin and a Le Meridien), making it possible to combine shopping, dining and an overnight stay seamlessly. In effect, City Centre Bahrain has set the standard for luxury and variety in Manama retail.
Just northwest, in the Sanabis district, is The Bahrain Mall. Opened in 1997, this mall is notable for its eye-catching design: it is shaped like a traditional Arabic fortress. Its entrance features torches and cascading waterfalls, and the main atrium has a tented fabric roof with palm trees below, evoking an oasis inside the building. The effect is to blend modern retail with local motifs. Inside, The Bahrain Mall is very family-oriented: its largest tenant is a Geant hypermarket (a French chain) that sells groceries, electronics, toys and home goods at value prices. Over 100 additional shops surround the hypermarket, along with some 30 kiosk vendors. These shops offer clothing, accessories, perfumes and traditional sweets. One wing of the mall contains about 17 food outlets, including a traditional Arabic café set up with floor cushions and brass coffee pots. The overall ambience is casual and colorful – small children play near the water features while teenagers browse gadget shops. Locals appreciate that The Bahrain Mall provides almost everything under one roof, at prices aimed at the family market.
Across the road in Sanabis lies Dana Mall, opened in 2002. Its exterior has a distinctive pale Jordanian stone façade, giving it an elegant look. Inside, soaring domes with stained-glass panels admit soft light over the interior. The anchor tenant here is Lulu Hypermarket (a large two-floor grocery and general goods store), and it truly drew crowds: after Lulu’s opening, mall management reported a “healthy mix” of Bahraini nationals, visiting Arabs, Europeans and South Asian shoppers strolling the aisles. Beyond the hypermarket, Dana Mall offers many daily services (shoe repair, travel agencies, mobile shops, etc.) and dozens of fashion boutiques and cafes. A highlight of its recent renovation has been the addition of a 12-screen movie cinema. Dana Mall also boasts a children’s “Chakazoolu” play area on the upper level, with playground rides and even a small indoor roller coaster for young thrill-seekers. When the evening comes, families gather at its eateries or relax with a film – the mall thus feels very much like a social hub after sundown.
In Manama’s diplomatic quarter, Moda Mall provides a very different experience. Located at the base of the twin Bahrain World Trade Center towers, Moda Mall is deliberately ultra-luxurious. Everything about it – from its glass-domed atrium to the polished marble floors – is designed to convey exclusivity. Moda was opened in 2008 as a specialty high-end shopping arcade, and today it houses roughly 150 boutique shops. These shops are almost all luxury fashion houses, jewelers and designer brands (many not found elsewhere in Bahrain). The result is a hushed, elegant atmosphere – more like a private showroom than a bustling mall. Shoppers here might pause at a café in an atrium of diffused light, or admire the latest watches in quiet display windows. The emphasis is very much on style and sophistication: as one description puts it, Moda Mall “embodies style and exclusivity”.
Deep in the heart of old Manama stands Yateem Centre. Opened in 1981, it was the Kingdom’s first fully air-conditioned shopping mall. Yateem is modest in size by today’s standards (roughly 12,500 m²), but it has long been woven into the fabric of the city. It sits on busy Al Khalifa Avenue and offers around 50 shops on two levels. Its shops are a mix of clothing boutiques, jewelry stores and small appliance outlets – including many selling traditional Bahraini gold and silver designs. A food court with a dozen restaurants (serving Arabic, Indian and other cuisines) opens onto an atrium, making the mall feel busy especially at lunchtime. For many Manama residents, Yateem Centre is still a convenient local hub: it has ample parking and is within walking distance of downtown workplaces and homes. In short, Yateem Centre may be old, but it continues to be “the people’s mall” for quick errands and casual shopping in central Manama.
No account of shopping in Manama would be complete without the souqs. The historic Bab Al Bahrain building (a turn-of-century city gate) leads into the manama souq, where the pace and colors shift sharply from the malls. Narrow lanes are lined with hundreds of small shops, so that “shopping in Bahrain would never be complete” without experiencing these traditional markets. In the Bab Al Bahrain area itself, more than a hundred stores sell gold and silver jewelry and ornaments – Bahrain has long been known for its jewelry craftsmanship. Antique-style shops here display copper coffee pots and goblets, tiny bottles of rosewater, and even imported Chinese porcelain figurines. Fabric vendors spill bold Indian silks and Gulf embroidered linens across their counters, reflecting the neighborhood’s multicultural influences. Perfume stalls scent the air with oud and floral attars. Walking these alleys feels like stepping into another world: you might be offered a dab of rosewater or a cup of Arabic coffee by friendly shopkeepers as you examine a handwoven basket or a silver pendant.
Across the nearby street lies the Central Market (Souq al-Manama), a more traditional bazaar of adjacent alleys and courtyards. Here one finds the essentials of Bahraini heritage: towers of woven date-palm baskets and coarse local rugs, rows of incense burners and perfume shops (selling frankincense, oud oils and aromatic rosewater). Pearls – once the backbone of Bahrain’s economy – remain on display: many jewelers in the souq sell cultured pearls, and buyers are even presented with certificates of authenticity. In fact, Bahrain’s reputation as a center of the pearl trade endures as a piece of living history. As UNESCO notes, “Pearling and its associated trades shaped the economy and culture of Bahrain’s island society”, a tradition still evident when one leaves the modern malls for the souq. Overall, Bab Al Bahrain and the Central Market showcase goods that are deeply embedded in local culture – from traditional textiles and coffees to artisan crafts – offering a very different, more “lived-in” atmosphere than the polished shopping centers.
In the end, shopping in Manama is as much about culture as commerce. The city’s modern malls and traditional souqs complement each other: one finds world-brand stores and family attractions in the air-conditioned malls, alongside alleyways of spice-smells and craftsmanship that speak to Bahrain’s heritage. Both sides reflect the economy and society – malls serving an international population and modern lifestyles, while the souqs continue the island’s age-old trades. Together, Manama’s malls and markets form a tapestry of experiences, where every aisle or alley offers a glimpse into the country’s past and present.
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