Bahrain Harbour

Date: February 5, 2025

Yesterday, I began my second day in Bahrain by first visiting my old apartment, walking to Manama’s Central Market, and then in the evening, exploring Yateem Centre and Al Zeinah Plaza. Today, I planned to walk to what used to be Manama’s corniche area.

By the time I woke up and finished my work, it was already past noon. I hadn’t had much of a breakfast.

Haji's Cafe beef biryani Bahrain — Lunch was at Haji’s Cafe. I had Bahrain-style beef biryani. Although not as strong on the masala, it was still very good and the beef so tender! Cost: BD 2 (₹500/$5/€4.5)

Bahrain Post office Manama — This is Manama Post Office… although I don’t know who uses it these days

Manama Joyalukkas KFC Bahrain — The iconic KFC at Bab Al Bahrain — it’s been here for some 30+ years!

Yateem Mosque Downtown Rotana Manama Bahrain — Yateem Mosque, next to Batelco Tower, and to the extreme right is Downtown Rotana – a 5-star hotel

Hotel Intercontinental Manama hotel Bahrain — That’s InterContinental Bahrain. I swear I thought that building was a lot bigger back in the 1990s!

Manama Amakin building Bahrain — I used to walk down this same path everytime my family used to go to Manama Corniche

Jasmis Amakin Manama Bahrain — Jasmi’s is a Bahrain-based fast food chain. Where it stands now used to be a Hardee’s before.

King Faisal highway signal Manama — This is King Faisal Highway, which extends all the way to Seef district — which is where the mall craze in Bahrain began in the late 1990s

Crossing King Faisal highway Manama Bahrain — I had to cross King Faisal highway to get to where the corniche once stood

Traffic signal button press many languages Bahrain — The pedestrian press sign on traffic signals is written in Hindi and Malayalam, besides English and Arabic

Conrad hotel Manama Bahrain — That blue building is the Conrad Hotel at Bahrain Financial Harbour — another 5-star property

View of Mamama Bahrain — A view of Manama from the former corniche

Manama Corniche was a long stretch of land with a seaside public park. Just a green open space where people could go for walks and jogs. All that is gone now.

Bapco Energies building Manama — Land reclamation extended the land further into the sea and many buildings have come up. BAPCO is Bahrain’s national oil company.

Bahrain Financial Harbour twin towers — The corniche’s destruction began in the early 2000s with this project — the Bahrain Financial Harbour towers

Bahrain Financial Harbour towers were the last project my father worked on for his company before leaving Bahrain. After the success of BFH, the area just kept expanding.

Bahrain Harbour apartments Manama — Now residential luxury apartments have come up

Walking to Bahrain Harbour Manama — As I kept walking, I was reminded of my first experience when I saw Dubai Marina back in 2010.

It may not be as impressive or vast as Dubai — but Bahrain doesn’t have to be

Kempinski Bahrain Harbour towers — This is the Kempinski Bahrain Harbour — another luxury residential and hotel project

Bahrain Harbour cafe sit out — There are eateries and coffee shops with sit-out areas overlooking the marina

Bahrain Harbour yacht Marina — Needless to say, the residents of Bahrain Harbour are wealthy

Labourers Bahrain Harbour — But these are the labourers who built Bahrain Harbour

Strathclyde University Bahrain campus — University of Strathclyde’s Bahrain Campus

Bridge to Bahrain Bay — I then walked towards the Bahrain Bay area, where more new constructions are coming up

Bahrain World Trade Center building — Over in the distance are the iconic Bahrain World Trade Center twin towers

Future Generation Reserve Tower construction Bahrain — This upcoming skyscraper is the Future Generation Reserve Tower

When I saw that sign board with the name of the contractors, it reminded me of all the construction sites where my father worked and would take us to once in a while. This should be standard in India as well.

United Tower spiral Bahrain Bay — I was walking towards that spiral tower, called United Tower

Bricked pavement Bahrain Harbour — Everytime I walk along nice pavements, I am reminded of how much of India still lacks the basics like clean, paved or bricked footpaths

United Tower Bahrain Aecom office — United Tower houses the offices of American-engineering major AECOM, and other multi-national companies such as Regus, CBRE, and Deloitte

But as I was talking photos, a security guard informed me that photographing United Tower is not allowed. In fact, photography is restricted along Bahrain Bay. Why? I don’t know.