The island state of Bahrain has become a leading financial and communications center for the Persian Gulf. Though linked to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway, Bahrain's far more liberal culture is distinctly separate.
Bahrain Information and History
Bahrain consists of 33 islands in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). The islands are mostly desert, and most of the population lives in or near Manama, the capital. Since the 1930s the oil industry has replaced pearl diving, and Bahrain has become a financial and communications hub. It is connected to Saudi Arabia by the 26-kilometer (16 mile) King Fahd Causeway. Since independence from Britain in 1971, there has been conflict between the ruling Sunni tribe and the Shiite majority. A new constitution in 2002 provided for an elected parliament and gave women the right to vote and stand as candidates.
Bahrain is a small island in the Persian Gulf (or the Arabic Gulf, as the Arabs call it). It is linked to its big neighbour Saudi Arabia by a bridge and seperated by a small strait from Qatar. The population is, like in neighbouring Iran in large majority Shia Muslim.
After World War II Bahrain became the center for British administration of treaty obligations in the lower Persian Gulf. In 1968 when the British Government announced its decision (reaffirmed in March 1971) to end the treaty relationships with the Persian Gulf sheikdoms Bahrain joined the other eight states (Qatar and the seven Trucial Sheikhdoms which are now called the United Arab Emirates) under British protection in an effort to form a union of Arab emirates. By mid-1971 however the nine sheikhdoms still had not agreed on terms of union. Accordingly Bahrain sought independence as a separate entity and became fully independent on August 15 1971 as the State of Bahrain.
The main city and most important tourist destination is without a doubt Manama the capital. All other sights can be visited from there.
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