Flight Destinations
Flights to Manama
Destinations in Bahrain
Flights to Africa
Flights to Asia
Flights to Australia
Flights to Caribbean
Flights to Central America
Flights to Europe
Flights to Indian Ocean
Flights to Middle East
Flights to North America
Flights to Pacific Islands
Flights to South America
The capital and largest city of Bahrain, Manama, is an attractive and cosmopolitan city despite its Islamic population and has a number of interesting sights for visitors to the city.
Travellers have a choice of flights to Manama from the UK which are direct or indirect. Manama’s airport, called Bahrain International Airport (airport code: BAH) is just a short distance from the city centre and direct flights to Manama from the UK are available with airlines such as BMI or British Airways. Alternatively choose from Turkish Airlines, Etihad Airways, KLM, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and Emirates for flights with one or two stops from the UK.
The Tourist Attractions of Manama
A visit to Manama is a good opportunity to experience some Islamic and Arabian culture without being truly restricted by both. Manama, and Bahrain in general, is a very liberal Islamic destination where tourists will be pleased to see they can let their hair down, enjoy nightlife and alcohol; things which many Westerners take for granted but which are banned in neighbouring countries. It’s this liberal and cosmopolitan atmosphere which makes Manama a popular destination.The skyline of Manama is increasingly being added to as more and more large scale building projects get under way. Although Manama can’t claim to have the tallest buildings in the world they are interesting for other reasons. The Bahrain World Trade Center for example is a twin towers construction designed in the shape of two sails which are connected together by three bridges. On the bridges are wind turbines which will help to power to buildings.
There are plans to build the world’s tallest building in Manama though this is only in the concept stage right now. If the Murjan Tower goes ahead it will stand over 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) high!
Manama is currently home to one of the world’s largest mosques. Al-Fateh Grand Mosque can accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time and as well as being an important building for the Islamic faith it is one of Bahrain’s top tourist attractions.
You can visit the mosque even if you are not of the Islam faith, though it is closed to visitors on the holy day (Friday) and during Islamic holidays.
Not far from the mosque is the Royal Bahraini Palace where the king of Bahrain lives. For obvious reasons this is not open to the public though!
The Manama Souq is open to the public though and is very popular with visitors. This is the city’s old bazaar and is essentially a marketplace but is organised into sections according to what is being sold. You can find just about everything here, from spices to souvenirs, and kaftans to gold, but even if you’re not looking to buy anything this is an area worth visiting for the experience if nothing else!
At the main entrance to Manama Souq is Bab al Bahrain. This means Gate of Bahrain and was built in the mid 1940’s by the British to house the government offices. At that time it actually overlooked the sea, but there has been so much reclamation of land since then that the sea is now about 10 minutes walk away!