Manama travel guide

Top 10 sights in Manama

Ranked by Wikipedia language editions — proven fame.

1. 

   1© Peter from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0

   Qal’at al Bahrain

   A mound twelve metres high holding seven layers of settlement from about 2300 BC onwards, and the capital of the Dilmun civilisation that traded between Mesopotamia and the Indus. A Portuguese fort of the sixteenth century sits on the top; the site is World Heritage.

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2. 

   2© أبو الشاي حليب · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Al Fateh Grand Mosque

   One of the largest mosques in the world, built in Manama in 1987 and able to hold seven thousand worshippers. Its dome is made of fibreglass, and the national library occupies part of the building.

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   Dilmun Burial Mounds

   Tens of thousands of burial mounds raised between about 2200 and 1750 BC across the north of the island, the largest prehistoric cemetery of its kind anywhere. They became World Heritage in 2019 after decades of losses to building.

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4. 

   4© Ibrahim.ID · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Beit Al Quran

   A complex opened in 1990 in Manama around a collection of Qur'an manuscripts, from pages the size of a thumbnail to volumes that need two people to turn. A mosque, library and school share the building.

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5. 

   5© Anthony DeCosta · CC BY 2.0

   Bahrain National Museum

   The oldest national museum in the Gulf, opened in 1988 on reclaimed land beside the causeway. Its subject is Dilmun — the trading civilisation that linked Mesopotamia to the Indus from this island — and the burial mounds, of which Bahrain once had well over a hundred thousand.

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6. 

   6© http://bahrain.viewbook.com · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Pearl Roundabout

   A roundabout in Manama holding a monument of six dhow sails supporting a pearl, raised in 1982 for a Gulf summit. It was the centre of the protests of 2011, and the government demolished it that March.

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7. 

   7© Aiman titi · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Khamis Mosque

   Believed to be the first mosque in Bahrain, founded in the Umayyad period and rebuilt several times. Its twin minarets were raised centuries apart and are the most recognisable silhouette on the island.

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8. 

   8© Abadi Moustapha from Jufoor, Bahrain · CC BY 2.0

   Arad Fort

   A fifteenth-century fort on Muharraq, built in the Islamic manner before the Portuguese arrived in 1521, and now surrounded by reclaimed land rather than sea. It is floodlit at night and stands a few minutes from the airport runway.

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9. 

   9© Graeme · CC BY-SA 2.0

   Barbar Temple

   Three temples of the Dilmun period built one on top of another, the earliest going back to about 3000 BC. A stone-lined spring at the centre is thought to have been dedicated to Enki, the god of fresh water beneath the earth.

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    10

    Riffa Fort

    A fort built in 1812 by Sheikh Salman bin Ahmed Al Fateh on the cliff above the Hunanaiya valley, commanding the gap between East and West Riffa. It was the ruler's residence as well as a garrison, and the restored majlis rooms are open.

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1. 

   1© Ahed Mustafa · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Juffair

   District of Manama built on reclaimed land from the 1970s. It holds the US naval base, the Grand Mosque of Bahrain and much of the city's nightlife.

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   Al-Sakhir Palace

   A royal palace in the desert of western Bahrain, near the racing circuit, used for official receptions and audiences. It was built as a retreat from the humidity of the coast.

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3. 

   3© Saji Thomas · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia

   The Catholic cathedral of the vicariate of Northern Arabia, opened in December 2021 on land given by the king of Bahrain, with room for two thousand three hundred. It is the principal church for a Gulf Catholic population of well over a million, almost all of them migrant workers.

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4. 

   4© Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Bab Al Bahrain

   The gate of 1949 that marks the entrance to the Manama souq, designed by Charles Belgrave, the British adviser to the ruler. It stood on the waterfront when it was built; land reclamation has since put half a kilometre of city between it and the sea.

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5. 

   5© Amos Ben Gershom · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Al-Qudaibiya Palace

   Palace in Manama built in 1932 as the residence of the ruler and now used for state guests. Its arcaded courtyard and wind towers follow the older building style of the Gulf.

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   Adliya

   District of Manama known for its galleries, cafés and restaurants. Block 338, a grid of converted houses, has been the city's arts quarter since 2013.

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7. 

   7© Ciacho5 · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Sacred Heart Church

   A Catholic parish church of 1939 in Manama, and one of only two in Bahrain. Sunday mass runs in half a dozen languages for a congregation drawn from India, the Philippines and Africa, and the compound is full from early morning.

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8. 

   8© Alexgriz · CC BY-SA 3.0

   Bahrain Synagogue

   A synagogue on Sasa'ah Avenue in Manama, the only one in the Gulf states and the oldest to have operated continuously in the region. Bahrain's Jewish community numbers a few dozen; the building was restored and rededicated in recent years.

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9. 

   9© Teacher Samara · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Al Hasan Mosque

   Mosque in Muharraq, Bahrain, of medieval foundation and among the oldest on the islands. Its squat square minaret and thick coral-stone walls survive in their original form.

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