AL JALAHMA HOUSE

The Al Jalahma family occupied all the professions in the perlière industry. The sons plunged the oysters, the father commanded the bead, which the uncle built. Once the season was over, the cousins were unloading the goods. The grandfather, the Tajir (trader), was busy selling them to the most prosperous merchants, who were playing intermediaries with foreign buyers. A well-rounded economy whose house is the hidden face. The Al Jalahma were a large family, and therefore many sons lived at home with their wives. So the house had more women than men. The architecture of the house was therefore thought of according to the different spaces where the wives could escape from the eyes of the unknown. An entanglement of corridors, balconies and stairs allowed them to carry out daily activities without crossing the guests' guests. But unlike other parts of the circuit, the main reception room (hafiz) was in the center of the building and not outside. During the fishing season, when Muharraq became a female city, Al Jalahma women loved to rest in the hafiz.