Despite the fact we have been in Bahrain now for over 6 months, until very recently we just haven't had the chance to explore and take in the sights. Being a small island there really aren't that many but we are now dedicating our weekends to getting round them all over the coming months. I was a bit lacking in enthusiasm at the start of this project as, although day to day Callie and I are settled and enjoying all our social activities, Bahrain is somewhat backward, run down and reminscient of a huge building site in a lot of respects so I didn't hold out much hope our trips around the island would be all that interesting! Thankfully, so far I have been proved 100% wrong! Our first venture out was to Bahrain Fort, not too far from our house. Despite the total rubbish signposting leading to much unnecessary driving around unpaved streets, the place was amazing... and FREE! We have long been complaining about there really being no parks or places to walk here, so the first positive of the fort was that we could easily get here (now we knew how!) late afternoon and enjoy the beach area around the fort as well as exploring the fort itself which is huge. There's even a lovely coffee shop with outdoor seating overlooking the beach too plus a museum! Callie had a wonderful time, leaving us wondering if she is destined to be an archaeologist when she grows up, spending almost an hour digging in the sand and picking up rocks! Just as well it was late in the day and she was heading home for a bath anyway! 
The following weekend we headed off into the desert to visit Al Areen Wildlife Park down in the south of the island. Again, I confess to being very pleasantly surprised at what was on offer here and we passed a most enjoyable couple of hours wandering around lovely gardens and getting really very close to the animals - obviously not the threat of being sued here the way you might in the West!! There were lots of animals and much more exotic than I imagined it would be! Callie again had an absolute ball and was most taken with the goats (not so exotic!) - she can now say "maa, maa" for goat so from an educational point of view we got our money's worth! Again, a great place to come for a walk now the weather is cooler and, amazingly, very cheap entrance fee and cafe! There's also a bus tour to around the park taking you to see giraffes etc, which we'll do next time. We'll definitely be back!
Just last weekend we took our lives in our hands and decided to take Callie for a tour of the Grand Mosque, a place requiring calm and quiet! Hmmm! On arrival I had to get fitted out for my abaya before being allowed anywhere near the inside of the place, which irritated and intrigued me at the same time. I was annoyed that Jamie could just walk in yet I couldn't, but I was fascinated by the outfit and what it would be like to wear after having spent six months observing the local women in the mall. Surprisingly, I quite liked the abaya - it was light and floaty and made a nice swishy movement when I walked, but I hated the head gear! It could be that I was distracted throughout the tour as my head scarf thingy wouldn't sit properly and kept sliding off my head making me anxious I would get thrown out for improper behaviour! Callie was also quite keen on the abaya and spent a large proportion of the tour playing hide and seek in it, complete with loud "boo!" each time she emerged echoing around the prayer room! Thank goodness the cleric found her amusing and the prayer hall was empty! Being the Grand Mosque, it was pretty grand and also interesting to get a bit more of an insight into Islam courtesy of our very thorough tour guide and all the free literature you could leave with (which may actually be designed to convert us!) Anyway, another successful trip which Callie enjoyed, having free run of a giant room with very plush carpets (made in Scotland by the way!) and posh lighting (we're very into lights at the moment!)
No comments:
Post a Comment