Best Preserved Ancient Cities: Timeless Walled Cities
Popular destinationsPrecisely built to be the last line of protection for historic cities and their people, massive stone walls are silent sentinels from a bygone age.…
Muharraq sits on Bahrain’s Muharraq Island, connected by a 2.5 km causeway to the capital, Manama. Once Bahrain’s capital city (until 1932), Muharraq today is a city of narrow lanes and historic districts with about 263,000 inhabitants. Bahrain International Airport occupies its northern shore, and the island feels both insular and cosmopolitan: ferried across a narrow inlet, many residents commute to Manama’s business districts each day, while Gulf Air’s headquarters and other agencies are based here. In wintertime an easterly breeze carries the salty scent of the sea and the smoke of incense from local homes, a reminder that although Muharraq is just a stone’s throw from the skyscrapers of Manama, it retains an older Arabian character.
Archaeological finds suggest that Muharraq was part of the Bronze Age Dilmun civilization, an early trading state in the Gulf. Classical geographers later equated Bahrain with Tylos or “Arwad,” and thought it the mythical cradle of Phoenicia. After the Achaemenid Persians withdrew, Muharraq fell under Hellenistic (Seleucid) influence, and a pagan cult of the ox-god Awal became centred here.
By the 5th century AD the town had become a flourishing centre of Nestorian Christianity – so much so that local place-names preserve the memory. (The village of Al-Dair literally means “the monastery,” and Qalali means “monk’s cloisters.”) When the Portuguese seized Bahrain in 1521 and then the Persians in 1602, Muharraq remained the island’s main port and settlement.
Finally, in 1783, Muharraq came under the rule of Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa along with the rest of Bahrain. Throughout the 19th century Muharraq served as the Al Khalifah sheikhs’ palace city; Sheikh Isa (r. 1869–1932) built the large courtyard house that still bears his name. With the discovery of oil in the 20th century, Manama grew rapidly, but Muharraq never lost the feel of a lived-in traditional town.
The layers of faith in Muharraq’s past are palpable. Aside from the Nestorian Christians of late antiquity, Muharraq’s modern religious landscape is predominantly Islamic. One may still visit early mosques and Sufi shrines tucked into alleys (the neighbourhoods known as Fareej). The old Muharraqi dialect and local customs reflect Bedouin-turned-seafaring roots. Villages like Al-Dair (where archaeologists found a Byzantine-era church under the current mosque) and Qalali literally echo the Greek and Syriac past: their names are vestiges of the Christian era. After the Al Khalifah took power, Sunni Arab tribal families settled here (a contrast to the Shia neighbourhoods of central Manama). The grand wind-towered homes of wealthy families were often built around private courtyards and mosques. In sum, Muharraq wears its religious history quietly, in its village names and the architecture of its community mosques, rather than in large monuments.
Along Muharraq’s sea wall and in its old city stretches a walking path known as the Pearling Trail. This route links 17 restored merchant houses, old shops and warehouses that once belonged to pearl traders. In 2012, this district was inscribed by UNESCO as “Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy.” The World Heritage site includes the southern Bu Maher (Abu Mahir) Fort and three offshore oyster beds. The trail (Masar al-Lulu in Arabic) extends about 3.5 km, guiding visitors past venerable thresholds and into the harbour. The path’s apex is Bu Maher Fort at Halat Bu Maher. Built in 1840, this modest coastal fort once watched over boats sailing out to the pearl banks; today it frames the sound of the sea at the trail’s end.
Working east along the Pearling Trail brings one to Muharraq’s most famous restored houses. Siyadi House (Bayt Siyadi) is one of the first stops. It was built by the Siyadi family – a dynasty of pearl merchants – in the late 19th century. The complex includes a private mosque (one of Muharraq’s oldest in continuous use) and a majlis (guest reception hall), all arranged around a courtyard. Nearby stands Sheikh Isa bin Ali House, the former palace of the ruling sheikh (built in 1869–70). Its simple white exterior hides a labyrinth of four courtyards and rooms, connected by narrow alleys. The house’s most striking features are its tall wind-towers (badgirs) which once drew cooling breezes down into the halls below. Restored to its 19th-century condition, Sheikh Isa’s house offers an intimate glimpse into royal life, and its rows of pointed archways and latticework reflect typical Gulf Islamic architecture.
Even inside these mansions one feels how Muharraq’s builders worked with light and air. In Sheikh Isa’s house, sunlight plays across the pale plaster and wooden lattice. The gear-like shafts of the wind-towers peek above the flat roofs, while shaded porticoes ring a cool central courtyard. Every carved door and corbelled corner tells of a time before modern air-conditioning. Farther along, the Arad Fort guards the harbor entrance. This compact fortification dates back to the 15th century and once sat on a small island; today it is fully joined to Muharraq Island. Its stout walls and towers – examples of traditional Islamic military design – have been extensively restored and even lit at night to highlight their crenellations.
Not far away across the water stands the Bu Maher Fort (so-called Abu Mahir Fort). Rectangular in plan with four circular corner towers, it was built by Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa in 1840 as a twin guardian to Arad Fort. Though partially destroyed in conflict by 1868, it was later rebuilt and ultimately incorporated into the Pearling Trail. Bu Maher is now a museum-like ruin. Just beside it are the wooden caiques and dhows pulled up on the shore – a reminder that these forts once presided over a very different seascape of sailing pearl-boats rather than ferries and jetskis.
Between forts and mosques, Muharraq also hosts museums preserving private heritage. The Bin Matar House was the majlis of Salman Hussein Bin Matar, one of the island’s most prominent pearl traders. Constructed in 1905 from traditional materials (palm trunks, sea-stone and gypsum), the house was nearly lost to redevelopment. In 2009 it reopened as a Pearl Museum, after restoration by a cultural foundation. Inside, its rough-hewn beams and wind-towers are intact, and exhibits explain the mechanics of pearl diving and Bahraini lore. Nearby, the Abdulla Al Zayed Press Heritage House commemorates another aspect of local history: it was the home of the man who founded Bahrain’s first weekly newspaper. Restored in 2003, the Zayed House now contains vintage printing presses, photographs and newspapers, preserving the story of Muharraq’s free press under Al Khalifah rule.
One more cultural site is Rashid Al-Oraifi Museum, a small art gallery set in what was once the Oraifi family’s home. Architecturally, the house has modern touches, but inside it displays the paintings of Rashid Al Oraifi, a local artist who drew inspiration from Dilmun-era archaeology and Bahraini traditions. The museum’s airy courtyard and gleaming white frames make it feel very much a product of contemporary Muharraq, honoring the link between the island’s ancient past and its living arts.
The heart of old Muharraq is its souq and the neighborhood shops around it. By late afternoon the souq lanes come alive with the scents of spices, incense and sweets. Although modest in size, Muharraq Souq is famous for its halwa or sweetmeat shops. Halwa here is not like Western candy; it is a thick, sticky pudding boiled in huge copper cauldrons by specialist halwachi bakers. Rosewater, cardamom and strands of saffron are stirred into the simmering sugar mixture, and when it’s poured out to cool it is generously studded with almonds, pistachios or walnuts. Warm halwa tastes intensely sweet, and vendors often offer a small sample (called taʿam) on a tray to passersby. Customers line up to buy bags of it, and one local halwa shop – Hussein Mohamed Showaiter Sweets – is well known for its century-old recipes. Beyond confections, the souq carries shops of cloth- weavers, copper-workers, and goldsmiths; but it’s the spectacle of halwa-making that lingers most in the memory.
Outside the tourist circuit, Muharraq’s identity lives in its ordinary neighborhoods. The city is traditionally divided into fareej (pronounced “firjan”), compact districts often centered on a communal mosque. The oldest is Fareej Al Bin Ali, founded in the 17th century by members of the Sunni Al Bin Ali tribe. Even today, most of Muharraq’s fareej remain Sunni communities. (This is a notable contrast to the Shia-majority souqs and alleyways of Manama across the causeway.) In each fareej families tend to know one another, and their small mosques and meeting halls still serve as social hubs. Walking these streets, one might glimpse traditional Bahraini houses (long, single-story homes with low roofs) that have remained in families for generations. Corners of the city are animated by chatter: elders sipping tea by the mosque, children kicking a ball along a lane, shopkeepers chatting on stoops. These everyday scenes give Muharraq a warm, lived-in feel – history here is not sealed behind glass, but carried forward by its people.
Muharraq’s cultural life extends into music and sports. It produced Bahrain’s most famous modern musician: Ali Bahar, a guitarist-singer of the band Al Ekhwa, was born and bred in Muharraq. Bahar (nicknamed the “King of Dilmun”) blended traditional Gulf melodies with rock rhythms, and his songs remain popular across Bahrain and the Gulf. The island also honors older musical roots: near the market, the tiny Mohamed bin Fares Museum commemorates a noted oud player and composer who specialized in urban folk music (Al-Sout). Inside are his old records, instruments and personal mementos – a testament to the Muharraqi strain of Bahraini music.
In sports, Muharraq Club is an institution. Founded in 1928, it is Bahrain’s oldest and most successful football (soccer) team. Red-clad supporters often gather on Saturday afternoons in a simple stadium on the island, cheering on a team named for the city. Club flags flutter on local rooftops, and even some of the narrow alleyways and shopfronts display the club’s emblem. In Muharraq the pride in this local team rivals the pride in any historical shrine – for many families, watching Muharraq Club play is as much tradition as any pearl-diving tale of old.
Despite its rich past, Muharraq is not frozen in time. Its streets now hum with motor scooters and lines of parked cars, and its traditional reed-and-plaster houses sit beside modern concrete ones. Bahrain International Airport (the kingdom’s sole commercial airport) sits just north of the city, beyond Arad Fort. Flights arrive and depart day and night, giving Muharraq’s skyline an occasional jet contrail cutting through the clouds. Nearby stands the Gulf Air headquarters, symbolizing the island’s bridge between local life and global travel.
At one end of town the Gulf Air office towers overlook quiet lanes of old homes. At the other end, beyond Bu Maher Fort, the work continues as it has for centuries: at Muharraq’s traditional dhow yard skilled carpenters still hand-build wooden sailing boats. This is the last active dhow shipyard in Bahrain, hidden behind a modern fence by the fishermen’s port. There, the coarse smell of teak and the creak of joints in a new dhow under construction evoke Muharraq’s seafaring heritage. In a way, the boatbuilders’ chant-like calls and braced shoulders carry the spirit of the pearl divers of old.
Walking these streets today, visitors may feel that Muharraq’s old and new lives coexist naturally. The late afternoon light slants golden across a wind-tower; nearby the incessant hiss of traffic is heard. A passerby in traditional attire might bid salaam to a young man in a baseball cap. The city’s hallmark is this gentle blending of eras – an island community that has always looked outward (to the seas and beyond) yet carefully tended the spaces of memory. For those who pause and listen, Muharraq speaks plainly of its story – in names of streets and mosques, in every salty gust off the Gulf, and in the warm sweetness of a halwa shop on a quiet corner. Each brick and breeze is a page of history, yet the city feels entirely alive and human, far from a relic, welcoming the visitor into its rhythms and traditions.
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