Travel Guide Al Muharraq

Muharraq is the historic capital of the Al Khalifa and the heart of the pearling industry that ensured Bahrain's prosperity before the discovery of oil. Today, it lives in the shadow of Manama's frenetic development and has been spared from massive urbanization. Without giant towers or charmless concrete blocks, the pavement of its narrow streets still keeps intact the memory of pearl fishermen, rich sheikhs smoking chicha on the porch of their opulent mansion and Jacques Cartier strolling through the alleys of the souk. Even today, a few fishermen continue to collect pearls every year and five jewelers trade in them. The city has kept its traditions and its ancestral architecture. Inhabited by Sunnis and Shiites, who live in good harmony, urban development is beginning to spread to its coasts, which are expanding by encroaching on the sea. But Muharraq's real charm lies in its old town, its souk and the lavish houses of pearl traders. The Ministry of Culture has set up a tourist circuit to discover its wonders through The Pearl Route, a stroll through old Muharraq.