BEIT AL QUR'AN

This building, which is very representative of modern Bahrain architecture, nevertheless takes on the route of the Al Khamis mosque, the oldest in the country. The Kufic, the oldest Arab calligraphy from Iraq based on geometrical motives, adorn its facade recall that Bahrain was one of the first kingdoms to embrace Islam outside Saudi Arabia. Inside, it is a real complex dedicated to Islam: There is a mosque, a madrasa (Koranic school), a library, a conference space and a museum. It is in this museum that much of the 50,000 manuscripts that compose its collection are exposed. Largely from the collections of Yousuf Bin Ahmad Kanoo, a Bahraini businessman, the Corans and texts gathered here retrace the evolution of Islamic calligraphy, from the foundation of Islam to the present. You will see the smallest Koran in the world, 4.7 cm by 3.2 cm, originating in Persia and dated in the eighteenth century, the first translation of the Koran in Latin, made in Switzerland in 955, the first Coran printed, dated in 1694 and published in Germany, of the surates inscribed on grains of rice originating in originating rice. in Pakistan (xivth century), as well as number of parcels calligraphed during the golden age of Islam. An hour's visit will be enough to make it a virtual tour. Proper attire required.