Life in Bahrain - Top 10 Highlights (Part 2)
This is a continuation of my previous post highlighting the first 6 of my top 10 experiences while living in Bahrain. The post is sooo full that I opted to cut it in half, so I figured I’d resume with a treat: the food scene. Enjoy!
Pistacho, rose and cardamom ice cream trio! #Bliss
Brunch and other food scenes
My mouth waters at the thought of this section. The food scene in Bahrain is fab.u.lous! For starters, there’s the richly flavored, native Bahraini cuisine featuring rice, incredible spice combinations, seafood, beef and lamb (no pork of course) and chicken. There’s the regional and far reaching cuisines from other countries such as Indian, Filipino, Thai and anyone else who has a closet full of spices to work their magic.
Saffron, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, black lemon, garlic, onions, parsley, Thai basil, cinnamon, regular lemon, olive oil, and countless others bathe, soak and saturate various dishes. Can you smell that?
Now, Brunch is a THANG, you hear me?! It takes place on Fridays because the Bahraini work week is Sunday through Thursday, with Friday being the family day and time to assemble at the mosque, somewhat like Sunday serving as the traditional day for church and family gatherings.
Brunch typically runs the standard times you’d see in the U.S. BUT… this is almost like a grand wedding reception, retirement ceremony or fancy fundraising meal minus the formal attire. Granted, some places do require a “smart” dress code and expect patrons to dress like they’re going to meet the King and Royal Family.
But, unless you’re going to The 4 Seasons or Ritz-Carlton, or our favorite, the Gulf Hotel, you’ll probably be fine with a pair of khakis and polo or something above sweatpants and a large t-shirt (no flip flops pleas). There’s usually live music and a vast array of food stations and selections. There’s a meat carving station, seafoods, pastries for days, fruits, cheese, and if you drop a few extra BD (Bahraini Dinar) you’ll enjoy bottomless likkah.
And that’s the draw. Few establishments sell alcoholic beverages outside of maybe beer and wine. Of course some do have cafes and bars but it’s an unwritten rule that if you want to get loose, you go to Brunch. And you can drop a few dawllahs while picking up a few pounds if you make it a habit. In fact, if we were up for it, I probably would have proposed doing a brunch circuit, checking out one new brunch venue every other week for our first year.
The catch, of course, is that it’s not cheap. For some of my most memorable brunch experiences (Art Rotana, Movenpick, La Vinoteca Barcelona when it was open), the price tag was upwards of $100 per person and that was without alcohol! Yes, per person. So we would have had to set up a Brunch fund to keep from going broke.
But the food in that country is exceptional and I have had so many different delicacies from Thai and Filipino to Persian and Lebanese and of course I found an Ethiopian restaurant, which was like a needle in a haystack, but praise God I found it!
HEATWAVES
The heat is how I’d imagine the 4th dimension of hell to be. As someone who has never been and doesn’t plan to go to hell atall, I’d like to say that living in Bahrain made my commitment to avoiding the fiery realm more pertinent. I used to live in Savannah, Atlanta, and the DC Metro area, so I thought I knew about heat and humidity.
Nope, Bahrain seems to have invented heat. Some might assume it’s the silent, dry type, but given the fact that it is an island surrounded by water in the Persian Gulf, this is, in fact, a boisterous, humid, heavy, sticky, dreadful heat.
And it starts as early as 7am in the late spring to early summer months. It radiates off all surfaces, clings to you, fogs up your shades immediately after you walk outdoors, and you can see it. I’m not just talking about condensation on the walls of water-front homes in Amwaj.
No honey, I’m talking about looking outside onto American Alley from your high rise, or stepping outside of your villa compound waiting to greet your next hair client only to be shocked by the thick and low hanging cloud of humidity hovering over the earth. There is no way you can be without A/C in your house or car and survive warmer months in Bahrain.
Prior to moving to Bahrain in January 2015, we spent a few weeks with my family in Virginia. So we knew what cold was. When we first rode around the city and noticed people bundled up in thick coats, ear muffs and gloves, we scratched our heads. My friend, it was 60 - 65 degrees fahrenheit outside. We had just left 20 - 30 degree temps and considered the 60s flip flop weather.
And one year later, we flip flopped our perspective and bundled up with the best of them. That summer heat will have you thinking 60 degrees is sweater and Ugg weather and 70 is light jacket and balmy weather. No lies.
DRIVING
Insert the dreadful emoji and perplexed GIF. Nevermind, I already did it for you. The driving is like a scene out of a movie (or a bat out of hell, whichever gives the best visuals).
Our first day in the country, while driving from the airport, I saw a car flipped over in the median and our sponsor said, “Welcome to Bahrain.” I can’t begin to describe some of the madness I’ve seen, and the fact that so many treat stop signs and traffic lights as mere suggestions.
Speed cameras exist and some areas enforced it, but that strip of highway heading out to Saar en route to the Saudi Causeway might as well have been a drag race speedway. And there was never a matter of “if” you’ll get into an accident, but “when” you get into one.
I’m thankful to say that we only got into two very minor situations. The first happened while leaving a Joss Stone concert (Spring of Culture 2015). The parking lot (car park) was packed and moving like a frozen snail. '
We eased our way out onto the main vein to take us out of the garage, when another car to our left kept driving and bumped into us. Instead of giving us space or letting us out, they kept driving, and scratched our car. New to the country and unsure as to whether to call the traffic police or not, we figured it would be a minor cosmetic issue on an older Bahraini beater (hooptie).
Besides, there was more damage on my side as Chris cut too close in his turn and caused a dent in the passenger side. But, the other drivers decided to file a report. We had to go to the Bahraini equivalent of the DMV and wait for HOURS before our claim was processed. We were told that it was our fault and could have been cleared had we called in a report when it took place. Lesson learned.
WOMEN
Women in Bahrain are allowed to drive, own businesses, hold positions of influence in government and aren’t required to veil themselves if they don’t want to. My friend from grad school used to dress like me, jeans or slacks and a t-shirt or cardigan. Her hair was always out. When I saw her for the first time in Bahrain, she was wearing her hijab and abaya.
My last day in the country, we went out to grab coffee and dessert at Cafe Lilou (love that place!). She brought her sister with her, which was a treat since I hadn’t met her family (hold that thought). Her sister wasn’t covered, but instead wore a cute dress and her hair out and in curls, but my friend was wearing her hijab and abaya. She made the point to share that women have a choice in what they wear.
But, I already figured this out in my first year when I interacted with a few Bahraini women at the monthly AWA (American Women’s Association) meetings. I also had Bahraini coworkers who covered up and others who didn’t.
And I often noticed how insular some women were, BUT that wasn’t everyone always. One friend took me and another friend shopping for home goods and pastries and always offered to hang out. And I enjoyed two beautiful experiences that brought me into the homes of a friend and new acquaintance.
On both occasions we broke bread, and I met their families, celebrated life as well as mourned death. So, while at times I wondered if I would ever be invited to or allowed to hang out with a group of Bahraini women over some Karak Tea at Lilou’s for brunch, I’m blessed to have had intimate meals with a small number of ladies who made me feel welcome.
BONUS: Drip, floss, lifestyle
The Bahraini lifestyle section requires its own separate post but I’ll do my best to capture it here. The simplest way for me to put it is in the form of an analogy. So, Bahrain is to Atlantic City as Dubai is to Vegas. As the first nation of the Persian Gulf to strike rich from oil, Bahrain is a very wealthy country and it’s constantly building and upgrading.
But, you wouldn’t guess so on the surface. Most roads are pitted and not paved and there are more dirt lots, potholes, packs of wild dogs and stray cats and liter than you can tolerate on some days. There’s prostitution and the club scene (something I didn’t expect to find based on my assumptions of conservative Muslim culture).
It’s like the wild wild west in a way. It’s figuring itself out, but on its own terms, according to its own rules and at its own pace.
People love luxury and flaunt it. Folks drive in their Lamborghinis, Maybachs, Mcclarens, etc. They have their drip, their drivers, their mind altering perfumes and colognes and 5 - star hotels. I’ve been to jewelry showcases and fashion shows. There are the McMansions and villa compounds.
We lived in a penthouse our first year and a huge villa townhouse that was easily the size of a regular 2000 sqft home, but structured like a duplex with two adjoining homes for a total of three homes in our compound.
There are rug flops, which was a favorite pastime of mine as I became enamored with the art of carpet weaving and considered doing what this bawse woman did.
I fell in love with kaftans and fresh mango smoothies and shawarmas in Shawarma aAley and did my fair share of perfume shopping. I used to say I collected passport stamps, pearls, persian carpets and perfumes! And Bahrain was the perfect place for all of that. I actually picked up side hustles to help fund these expenses!
Hospitality is key and Bahrainis are pretty friendly, warm and welcome. It was pretty endearing to get to know people and I never had a bad encounter with anyone. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen or that I didn’t see anything horrible because there are some reported instances of abuse, hostility, and yes, the reckless driving is real.
For the first time in my life, I had a housekeeper. Blackarella (as I was called growing up) had weekly housekeeping. Most high rises and landlords automatically arranged the service for tenants, which was included in rent. And when you realize a lot of people immigrate to Bahrain to make enough money to send back to their families in Nepal, The Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, etc. you reframe your thinking. Plus, when you work 45-60 minutes away from home and both you and your husband are dog tired, you appreciate the helping hand.
But I will say this, as the great granddaughter of a black woman who used to clean white people’s houses in Birmingham, AL, and a black woman in general, I had to sit with and process this privilege. I wondered what my late great grandmother would have thought to know that her granddaughter's child lived in a day and age where she could travel the world and hire housekeeping.
Nevertheless, I was grateful for a clean house and having my laundry put away twice a week. If we had had children, I would have been open to in-home childcare and if you ever go to Bahrain, you’ll notice that some women have one nanny per child.
My little Paulino (my Sicilian-American nephew!).
And speaking of children, they LOVE children in Bahrain. It’s not unusual to have a person scoop up your child and take them to the kitchen to show their colleagues at the restaurant while you’re out to eat . It throws off most Americans, but that’s because this isn’t really a child friendly nation, and child abduction seems more prominent here in the U.S than in Bahrain (I haven’t fact checked this so don’t quote me).
I also never saw men willingly push strollers until I lived in Bahrain. They would be grocery shopping or out for a walk and the fathers would pair up and talk and push the strollers while the mothers caught up and talked walking behind them.
I was shocked and impressed. Children are allowed to run all over the place and that definitely is counter to my upbringing. Children were also not put in seat belts or car seats. THAT often scared me, as driving was never a matter of if but when a collision occurred.
And that’s it! Those are my VERY LENGTHY top 10 experiences in Bahrain. There’s so much more, but I’m already well over a decent word count, so I’ll see if I can dig up old memories or even find the posts from my old blog and repurpose them for this space just so you can have a taste of my experiences in that flavorful land.
I still have a place in my heart for the sandcastle and if God allows I would gladly visit so I can see old friends and relive a few special moments.
Honorable Mentions:
Dates: Like nature’s candy growing on trees. I used to pick them off the date palm near our home.
Farmers’ Market: A variety of fresh, delicious and seasonal produce!
Horse Racing: The Bahrainis love horses and we got to enjoy a horse race.
Camels: The animal of the Middle East, these lovely ungulates are pretty chill.
Tree of Life: Over 400 years old, this tree is a symbol of resilience, standing 32feet tall and alone in the desert.
Those are my highlights from life in Bahrain. A special Ramadan Kareem to my Muslim friends and Shukran Bahrain for the memories!
