Middle East: April 2023: Day 7: Bahrain

Middle East

April 2023: Day 7: Bahrain

Archaeologies of Green Pavilion.

Random art.

Produce delivery at local grocery stand.

Not sure what these red metal sculptures were for, but there were quite a few scattered around.

The red metal sculptures are hanging, too.

Lots of little satellite dishes and white-painted water tanks.

Thought this building was artfully decorated, but the noticed the broken windows.

Colorfully painted, yet broken windows and a cellular tower on top.

Someone decided to shade their water tank.

According to Google Maps, this is destined to be a parking structure.

It's so stylized, how much space do they waste??

Actually a closely packed shopping street.

More obvious how closely packed it is when you zoom in.

Random camel decorating the road.

Looking south from Sa'ada sea front.

Sam got bombed.

Hummus back at the hotel was okay. The flatbread was very ordinary.

Thai beef salad, oddly, might be the way to go given all the meat and carbs on this trip.

Sam, of course, had to have something deep fried (squid tempura).

Wandered up to the roof of the 20-story-tall Marriott Executive Apartments.

View of the skyscrapers to the west-northwest.

The buildings and empty lots right next door.

There's a decent-sized pool around the corner, behind the wall..

Looking south.

The cranes in the background I think are the US Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

Water tanks and satellite dishes.

On the roof below, water tanks and satellite dishes are joined by air conditioners.

Actual name-brand Tide written in Arabic (English was on the reverse).

More salad, this time for dinner at M by Mirai.

Hamour (grouper) sashimi. Very mild.

Next to some lobster baos. Not bad but I prefer the OG with pork.

Chicken yakitori was good but quite ordinary.

The spread, including mushrooms covered in sesame sauce, and a cut roll with shrimp tempura.

Temari-style sushi (aka round balls).

Sam had never seen this style before.

Menu at Latea.

1 liter??

Boba milk, because it was too late in the day for tea.

After stirring the boba.

Sam bought 2 kilos of dates for his better half.

Al Fateh Grand Mosque at night.

Isa Cultural Center.

Solid fusion of traditional and modern architecture.

Took the day off to brave the day's heat among the winding alleways and traditional houses of Muharraq, one of the older cities in Bahrain. Did not fully grasp the significance of the Archaeologies of Green Pavilion or the Vertical Garden, nor of the random red metal sculptures scattered around, but was still good to get out and see the city. One of the newer bits of architecture was a parking structure (?) with curving floors, which looked to waste massive amounts of space due to the curves... mildly curious why??

Wandered for blocks and blocks, all the way down to the rather empty Sa'ada Sea Front, til the day's heat drove us to seek shelter. Random palm trees, one colorfully painted building, and a narrow two-story shopping street marked the final sights of the morning, while Sam being bombed by a bird at least kept us busy while we waited for a Careem to make its way to the two idiot tourists wandering so far away from actual interesting areas. (original goal was the Qala't Bu Mahir, a small fort on the water near Sa'ada Sea Front, but thought the better of roasting longer in the heat...)

Back at the hotel, found that the Thai beef salad might be the best item on the menu for lunch. Not because it's remotely authentic, but because it was a nice break from all the meat and flatbread! Sam being Sam, he had to order something deep fried-- turned out to be a rather indifferent calamari. Then it was up to the 20th floor roof of the hotel, where we found a few more ex-pats hiding by the pool, and some pretty solid views of Manama-- plus plenty of water tanks and air conditioners on the roofs of neighboring buildings.

With the day off, celebrated the breaking of iftar at M by Mirai. Experienced a bit of the iftar crush at Al Aali Mall, with packed outdoor patios at most of the restaurants, while dinner itself proved to be a soldily midrange Japanese meal. A bit more modern than Sato, but not as high-end as the original Mirai Restaurant (which was rated Best Restuarant in Bahrain 2022), it was a sufficently decent if ultimately forgettable experience outside of the rather odd interior architecture (all these stairs... why??).

A very short walk from Al Aali Mall to Seef Mall, then indulged in boba milk at Latea. Was pleased to find the quality was as expected given Latea's reputation in the USA, then it was off to the final stop of the night-- Al Fateh Grand Mosque and Isa Cultural Center. Not sure they were the most interesting photos of either place, but the clear night skies at least made for prettier photos than the haze earlier in the day.