22 Nov 2015

Bahrain II - Life in the desert

All in all I spent about 3 weeks in Bahrain, staying with my friend Andrew who graciously showed me around. This was my first time in the middle east, so here are a few assorted observations. Seriously, it’s 01:00h here and I had a few beers…if you expect a coherent narrative you came to the wrong place.

Still pretty warm

Bahrain is a desert country. No surprises there.

See? Desert!

Sure, it’s an island, but a desert island in a shallow, half-boiling pond (called ‘the gulf’) surrounded by more desert in almost every direction. A few times I stepped outside during the day. I lived to regret it every single time: The heat was unbearable. A casual 40°C and a city baked to a smoking crisp by a sun as merciless as a very merciless thing. You don’t see other people in the streets because they’ve learned their lesson long ago: Just. Don’t.

Al Fateh Grand Mosque

Inside the mosque

The gorgeous prayer hall

Am I being overly sensitive because I’m used to northern European climate? Sure. Does that make the Emirates any less hostile to human life? Not really. Airconditioning alone keeps people from turning into a human form of jerky. And this is the greater irony:

Not only is Bahrain insanely hot, it’s also freezing cold. The same geniuses who thought it was a good idea to build cities on sand that’s a few degrees above its melting point also thought it might be amazing to cool every living space down to about 16°C. Suddenly popping out to the shops means that within 5 minutes you experience a temperature difference that most European countries get over the course of a year. You leave the cinema with icicles hanging from your nose. Your sweat-soaked shirt is frozen to your frost-bitten back, which then burns once you step out into the sun. Awesome.

All of this seems perfectly plausible to the locals. My favourite remark: “But you’re from the north, you must love the cold!” No, we fricking don’t! We have heating for that, and warm clothes and vacation days! We hate the cold more than anything. So why do you do that?! Why does your office make me think of the Winter War or Stalingrad ‘42?

It’s Ramadan

About halfway through my stay in Bahrain, Ramadan started. I was familiar with the concept on an individual level but not quite prepared for what it looks like on a societal level. For the period between 18.06. and 17.07. public life slowed down to allow the population time for introspection, their faith and reconnecting with family and loved ones.

They were also not supposed to consume anything between sunrise and sunset. In Bahrain this is taken seriously as far as public life is concerned: You can’t eat in public. Or drink (even water). Or smoke. Or chew gum. Any one of those things is grounds for a stint in a cell and a hefty fine.

As a result, any place serving food or drink is closed during the day. Good way to avoid temptation, I guess. But once the sun sinks below the horizon…

Food is amazing. I like food.

The food. Oh my god, the food! As you’d expect, not eating during the day gets people quite excited about food! As a result, the meals available after sunset are just astonishing in quantity.

No doubt that's exactly what the inventor intended...

Since Bahrain is such a melting pot, the sheer variety of fantastic food also shines in terms of quality. My friends took me to one great restaurant after the other, every one of which left me grinning like an idiot. Luckily, the desert heat did little to dampen the ever-present hunger that comes with the fusion-drive that is my metabolism.

Mmmhhmm...cow!

Bahrain being a bit of a melting pot there is no shortage of cuisines to chose from: Middle eastern, American, European, Indian, Thai, you name it. Most service jobs in Bahrain are done by workers from Southeast Asia or the Philippines. Consequently, whichever cuisine you chose, the food will be served by people from that part of the world. Turkish food? Indians. American food? Indians. Indian food? Philipinos!

Add the fantastic Indian food served at Andrew’s place to the mix and it’s a proper miracle they didn’t have to roll me back over the border. Some of my favourite treats included:

• Milkshake “Miley Cyrus” (Cookie dough + Reese’s Peanut Butter cups)

• Fresh lemon juice with mint

• Cheese samosas

• Tandoori fish filet

• Lebanese BBQ

• So. Many. Things.

Uh…excuse me for a second, I need to go find some dinner!

Until next time,
Arne