Bahrain

Today we opted for a tour of the capital city of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama.  What a difference from India.  The air is clean, there is minimal trash and all the buildings are relatively new.  We did not see any signs of poverty that we had been inundated with in India.  Most of the buildings in the city were built in the last ten years.  The locals jokingly call their city Manamanhattan.  Those of us who remember that ridiculous song from about 1970 that came from the Laugh-in gang (?) called it Manamana (do-doo-di-do-do).  We saw the world trade towers consisting of twin towers with massive wind turbines on bridges spanning the gap between the two towers.  Bahrain has two seasons hot and hotter with temperature in the hotter periods being in the low 50's or 136 degrees F.  
In Bahrain gas is 40 cents a litre; less than water, which is 60 cents.  Bahrain grew because of oil which was discovered here in 1932, even before it was found in Saudi Arabia.  However, Bahrain is a relatively small country and its reserves are now drilled out.  However, pipelines run through the country from Saudi Arabia.  Bahrain refines the oil and gets to keep half the oil it refines.  The country has no natural  water and there are huge desalinization plants around the seashore.  With uncommon foresight, the country also diversified into aluminum production (importing bauxite from Australia) and the production of petrochemical products.  They do very well because the Bahrain dollar is equal to about $3 US and their is no individual income tax in the country.
The first place we went to was the fort which is estimated to be 2000 years old. Bahrain was a major trading center for the last 5000 years.  The fort is believed to have three cities.  The lower ones cannot be excavated due to the high probability of collapse.  The top part is mainly the remains of when the Portuguese were the occupiers of Bahrain and it was designed to keep the locals out.  
We visited the original home (Al Jasrah House) of the last king which was relatively plain as that was the time before oil was discovered. The current king lives in a palatial home. We visited a handicraft centre and a camel farm.  We drove by an area which is estimated to be 5000 years old and contains over 170,000 mounds of rock and sand which is believed to be the world's  oldest cemetery.  Each mound contains the body of one individual.  There is a great debate occurring in the city as to whether the land occupied by these mounds should remain devoted to the long dead or reclaimed for development by the living.
Bahrain is a nice country to live if you are a resident.  There is no tax, free education, subsidized housing and free health care.  Individuals are allowed to wear any type of clothing so long as it is not vulgar (nothing form fitting or low cut).  Tourism is one of the major sources of income for the country now with people from Saudi Arabia being the most frequent tourists as they can drink alcohol in Bahrain, have no dress restrictions and no restrictions of males and females being in groups together. When I asked the question about the unrest the guide believes it is originating outside the country  and possibly a result of the more open nature of Islam in Bahrain.  We had no safety concerns while we were there, it is a modern clean city.

Cruise tip: taxi drivers in Bahrain speak English so if you know what you want to see,  having them as your guide might be the best option versus a tour.