Geography
BAHRAIN is an archipelago of 33 islands. on the western shores of the Arabian Gulf.

It covers a total land area of 707 sq. kms. which makes it a little smaller than Singapore. Bahrain lies 22 kms off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, and 28 kms from the coast of Qatar.

Bahrain island is the largest of the islands at about 48 kms. By contrast, Muharraq, the second largest island where the airport is located, is only 21 kms square.

Capital
Manama, the capital. is where much of the business is concentrated. It is easily accessible from all parts of the country.

Language
Arabic is the national language. English, however, is widely understood, spoken and commonly used in business.

Religion
Islam, the state religion in Bahrain, is followed by a majority of its population. Other religions also have their places of worship and are permitted to practice freely.

Currency
Bahrain's currency is the Dinar, which divides into 1,000 fils. The dinar has been officially pegged to the US dollar at the rate of $1 = BDO.378 (378 fils).

Currency can be changed at the airport, hotels, banks and the many exchange houses. Rates at exchange houses are generally more favorable than at the airport or hotels.

Most shops will accept Saudi riyals at the rate of 1 : 10, the dinar being the stronger currency. There are no restrictions on currency movement in or out of the country.

Working Week
Most Bahrain businesses work a five and a half day week, from Saturday to Thursday, with Friday the day of rest.

Business Hours
Business hours are generally from 0800 - 1300 and 1500-1800 11900 on weekdays, and from 0800 to 1300 on Thursday, though some companies work a straight 0800-1600 shift with a 1300-1400 break.

Most banks are open from 0800-1200 Saturday though Wednesday and 0800 -1100 on Thursday. Some banks now also open - in the afternoons. ATM facilities are widely available.

Shops generally stay open from 0830 - 1230 and from 1530- 1900 Saturday through Thursday, and 0830 - 1230 on Fridays.

However most supermarkets and cold stores are open until at least 2200.

Calling home
Babrain has one of the finest telecommunications networks in the world.

Direct dial or fax facilities are widely available to over I 80 conntries. You will find pay phones on streets in most residential areas, in shopping complexes and at Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) outlets.

The blue public phones are coin operated machines (100 fils coins), while the red booths accept phonecards (easily available throughout Bahrain).

If you plan on making overseas calls from a payphone, you would be well advised to buy a phonecard. Cards are available for 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 units, and they beat lugging a fistful of coins around !

Collect calls can be made to the following countries - Ascension Island. Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico. New Zealand, Norway. Oman. Puerto Rico, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, UK and the US.

Time
Local time in Bahrain is GMT + 3 hours.

Newspapers
Bahrain has four daily newspapers - the English language Gulf Daily News and the Bahrain Tribune, the Arabic Akhbar Al Khaleej and Al Ayam.

Many Gulf and international publications are also available.

In 1986 the modern technology of Bahrain was joined with the mainland by way of the 15km King Fahad Causeway link to Saudi Arabia, but that is another story.

The earliest recorded references to Bahrain date back to the third millennium BC, when it was known as Dilmun.

The significance of the Dilmun era is yet to fully dawn on us, but ongoing excavation work continues to reveal breathtaking secrets of that period. Recent digs have proved the existence of a very organised lifestyle, with well ordered roads, proper houses, workshops and a central marketplace.

Equally significant is the discovery of thousands of burial mounds, each covering a stone built chamber which formed the grave.

These discoveries throw light on what was obviously an extremely well-developed society for its time.

That era has also been chronicled in the Epic of Gilgamesh. who called Dilmun the land of immortality when he visited it in his quest of eternal life. With its lush vegetation and abundant fresh water springs, not to speak of its ideal location between Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, Dilmun became a popular haven on the sea trade route. As trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilisations in the subcontinent continued to flourish. Dilmun also grew in prosperity. A city, Qalat Al Bahrain, began to spring up at the site where the Bahrain Fort now exists.

The good times were not to last: between 1800 and 1600 BC, Aryan forces invaded and destroyed the cities of the Indus Valley civilisation, bringing trade to a halt.

For a long period thereafter Bahrain remained isolated, forced to depend on its own resources. It would not be until the early first millennium that Bahrain would flourish again, as part of the Assyrian empire.

Babrain became an important pearling and fishing port, but the high quality and abundance of pearls in its waters attracted some unwelcome attention. By 600 BC, Bahrain was drawn into the expanding Babylonian empire. The Greeks, who called the island Tylos, soon began settling in Bahrain.

Trade began to play an important part again with the fall of Babylonia to the Persians, who now controlled much of the region between India and the Mediterranean; and by 323 BC, Bahrain regained its independence.

There followed a period of relative calm, up until the 15 century when Europeans began exploring new sea trade routes.

Bahrain was also known as Awal during that pre-Islamic era. The name fell out of favour in the 13th century when it was associated with the name of a pagan idol worshiped by the Wa'el Tribe.

The islands first became known as Bahrain in the early Islamic era, when the name was used for the entire region stretching from Basra (Iraq) in the north to Oman in the south.

By the early 1500s the Portuguese saw Bahrain as a key point to protect their trade routes between India, Africa and Europe.

They invaded the island and set up a military base at the Bahrain Fort.

The fort, which ironically had been used by the people of Bahrain to defend themselves against the Portuguese, was strengthened and new stone towers erected. Up until today, the Bahrain Fort is also widely known as the Portuguese Fort.

The Portuguese were however, unable tu protect the islands. which fell to the Persians in 1603.

Then came a long period of turmoil. with Bahrain changing hands between warring Persians and Arabs until it was finally conquered in 1783 by Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa. Better known as Shaikh Ahmed al Fatih, the Conqueror, he was to usher in a start of a new and important era.