Muharraq Cultural Walking Tour (Summer Version)

As grand pearl merchants, the family owned its own pearling fleet and was guaranteed of its annual pearl catch. The immense wealth generated from pearls allowed the family to build the Siyadi complex. The exquisitely decorated Siyadi Majlis, the pearling era’s only four-level building, is the jewel of the nominated pearling testimony. Its ground floor apartments, built in 1850, are among the earliest stone structures in Muharraq. Added in 1921, the majlis offers the last remaining example in which a pearl merchant (Tajir Al Lulu) received pearl merchants from as far away as India and Europe to negotiate over his special pearl collections.

LUQMATINA CAFE - A snack restaurant in the old house converted into a restaurant. AL NUKHIDA HOUSE - The Nukhidhah house is one of the houses located on the future“Pearl Walk”, as a part of the project “Pearling and its cultural landscapes in Bahrain”. The time I got the task by the Shaikh Ebrahim Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa Center for Culture & Research for conservation and to create the design for the rebuilt part of the complex as a German architect and conservation expert, I took the challenge with great pleasure and enthusiasm. Preserving the ancient part and designing the attached architecture in a modest way was what an architect desires.

part of the project “Pearling and its cultural landscapes in Bahrain”. The time I got the task by the Shaikh Ebrahim Bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa Center for Culture & Research for conservation and to create the design for the rebuild part of the complex as a German architect and conservation expert, I took the challenge with great pleasure and enthusiasm. Preserving the ancient part and designing the attached architecture in a modest way was what an architect desires.

harraq through photographic works that capture the visual memory of this intimate city. In the art of poetry and deep language, the voice of the poet Mahmoud Darwish in some way compensates for his absence. Likewise, the sea offers a parallel charm, touching the place through preparatory work (qourqour) ties from each thread of his net a diver’s float fished by the sea. From this house, which was part of the original house of Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the arts will speak of Muharraq with its visuals, of the magic of Bahrain and the sea, of the Arab world through the voice of the poet Mahmoud Darwish.

Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, as well as his library, correspondence, and intellectual and cultural meetings, nothing remains except for a single memory, faithful in its gestures and details. The memory that carries the details of his life, the personal belongings that remained after his death, is today the witness and guardian of time. The center takes visitors through the life of Sheikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa by touring his rooms, detailed with the furnishings of the time, decorated by delicate carvings, the stories that are told, and the things that evoke his memory in this house.

The House of Coffee represents a combination of three old traditional Bahraini houses. To maintain the overall look of the area and the small lane leading to the house, the traditional façade was retained. However, the interior of the houses was renovated and now functions as a café. Visitors to this area of Muharraq now have the opportunity to stop and rest at this café, sampling its modern and distinctive menu. The House of Coffee complements the traditional coffee place at the entrance of the area leading to the Shaikh Ebrahim Center.

ying and unique Bahraini art of Kurar embroidery. The building provides a venue for elderly Bahraini ladies to pass on the art of the Kurar to younger generations. The Shaikh Ebrahim Center furthermore promotes the art and production of Kurar by supporting the artisans in their production and marketing of Kurar-embroidered clothes.

FOR BAHRAINI PRESS HERITAGE - The Abdullah Al Zayed House for Bahraini Press Heritage was the first restoration project undertaken by the Shaikh Ebrahim Center with private sponsors. The newly restored 100-year old building opened in November 2003. Being the house of the founder of the first weekly newspaper in Bahrain and the Gulf, the house is dedicated to the preservation of Bahrain’s press heritage and at the same time preserves part of the country’s unique architectural traditions.

It is part of a larger complex of buildings constructed for the pearl merchant Abdullah bin Isa Siyadi, which further includes a mosque and a majlis

(Dinner or lunch packages) on special request.

Built on the land of the original majlis of Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the current building is a modern reconstruction. Since 2002, more than 400 artists, speakers, philosophers, and poets have visited the Shaikh Ebrahim Center to share their art and thoughts in this venue dedicated to the open exchange of ideas and knowledge. To accommodate an ever-larger audience, a new auditorium opened in December 2008, with a seating capacity of around 300.