While visiting Nepal, we made friends with a couple who lived in Bahrain. Since Formula One coincided with our visit to Egypt and Bahrain was just a short flight away, we decided to visit. Bahrain is a small, oil rich island nation that connects to Saudi Arabia by bridge. The first oil that was discovered in the Middle East, was in this well in Bahrain.

There are some cute fishing villages on the island as well.

The Royal Camel Farm in Bahrain is not a well known tourist destination but cute to walk around. It exists solely for the royal family to preserve the heritage of camel rearing in Bahrain.

Downtown Manama is thriving.

It is also known for the oyster pearl beds that hug the nation’s coast. For years there was a monument for the pearls at a busy roundabout in Manama. During the Spring uprising of 2011, the monument became a place of demonstrations and was ultimately destroyed by the government. It has been paved over and renamed. The government has referred to it as a “bad memory”.

We really enjoyed Formula 1, although it was incredibly hot. It was fun to see such an interesting mix of cultures.