Exploring Bahrain

One of the great things about visitors is that it gives me an excuse to see things in Bahrain that I wouldn't normally do.  And since David has arrived, we've managed to get out and about.  I made a Google map of all the things that would be interesting to do (the yellow ones are places that I have actually visited).  I made it because 1) I like maps 2) I love Google and 3) I could better get a sense of what we should do with David here.

View Places to Visit in Bahrain in a larger map

Barbar Temple:  This temple (actually, 3 temples on top of each other) dates back to at least 1500 BC from the Dilmun civilization.  Some people say that the Garden of Eden was in Bahrain, as it was known as the Land of Palm Trees.  Interestingly, the first book ever written - The Epic of Gilgamesh - features and island paradise across the sea, and many people wonder if this is a reference to Bahrain, of which the Dilmun civilization would have been a part.

Desert Valley:  this was hot, but its always a nice view.  During the winter, when it's cooler, it's a nice place to come and sit.  If you go further down the highway (which is just behind the picture taker below), you can get off onto a dirt road.  On the dirt road is a large sign with a list of various kinds of bombs that says something to the effect of "Do Not Enter.  If you find a bomb looking this this, don't touch it."  If that's not an invitation to mischievous teenage boys, I don't know what is.

Burial Mounds:  these graves, that have bodies inside them, presumably, are all over Bahrain.  Besides locals, various conquerors that came through Bahrain have soldiers buried in some of the mounds, including men from Alexander the Great's army.  The national museum has a great exhibit about the burial mounds.

Riffaa Fort:  This was a new one for me, and its by far the best of the four forts I have listed on my "Things to See in Bahrain Map".  The fort seems to have been recently restored and there are lots of rooms with interesting designs and architecture.  This would be the perfect place to have little kids run around and play hide and seek.  Lots of nooks and crannies throughout.  It also overlooks a valley - and I had difficulty figuring out where it was from.

Go Karting:  This was also new for me, and by far the best find of the summer.  I'm pretty sure these 'karts' were going over 50 mph on a track that resembles an F1 track.  It was expensive (about $12 for 15 minutes - with a half-off coupon), but totally worth to do at least once.  They keep track of your lap time and total time to the 1000th of a second, so you can compare afterwards.  I thought I did pretty well - until I realized that a 12 year old kid lapped me 3 TIMES.

There were a lot more things that we would like to do, but its just been too hot.  On day, while doing errands with my dad, I'm pretty sure he almost died from heat exhaustion.  They've since left and Alison's mom, Janet, is here, our time outside has been limited to moving from air-conditioned place to air-conditioned place.  Though it sounds like you all in the midwest know what I'm talking about!