Travel guide Manama

In Bahrain, every journey begins in Manama. The historic heart of the Kingdom, the capital has undergone rapid urban development in recent decades. The country's capital for the past 100 years, it now concentrates the archipelago's main economic and cultural activities. A city of concrete, steel and glass, Manama's skyscrapers, the tallest of which reaches 270 metres, symbolize the Kingdom's prosperity. But the capital has also managed to preserve its authenticity: many districts, near the Bab al Bahrain or in Al Hoora, have resisted the call of height and remained on a human scale. Strolling through the narrow streets of the old souk, it's almost like stepping back in time. History buffs will discover this past at the National Museum or the Qal'at al Bahrain Fortress, which remind us that the Manama site, inhabited for 5,000 years, was one of the first centers of civilization in the Gulf.