In Bahrain, there is only one Museum named Bahrain National Museum, which amazes everyone who ventures here. This Museum is the oldest and largest public Museum in Bahrain. This Museum collection covers 27,800 square meters and was opened in 1988 by the Emir of Bahrain, Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. It is one of the most famous Bahraini tourist attractions and the first modern Museum in the area.
About the Bahrain National Museum
The Bahrain National Museum building planned and designed by Krohn and Hartvig Rasmussen, has a white travertine marble facade and two connected buildings that are 20,000 square meters. The main building provides a permanent exhibition area, a lecture hall, an art gallery, temporary exhibition halls, a gift shop, and a café. The administrative building includes offices, conservation laboratories, curatorial research areas, collection storage areas, and exhibition construction. The Museum is the reservoir of the history of 6000-year Bahrain. The Graves, Tylos, Dilmun, and Islam Halls show the story of Bahrain, from Customs and Traditions, Traditional Trades and Crafts to Documents and Manuscripts. On the ground and first floors are exhibition halls that host the “Investing in Culture” exhibition.
Museum’s halls
Bahrain National Museum keeps a rich collection of historical and ancient artworks from 1988. The museum complex has 6 main halls, three dedicated to Dilmun’s archaeology and the ancient civilization; two of them illustrate the lifestyle and culture of the pre-industrial period of Bahrain, and the last one, opened in 1993, focuses on the natural environment of Bahrain.
1. Hall of Dilmun Graves
The exhibit concentrates on the burial and funeral of the Dilmun civilization. It illustrates an actual burial mound carried from its site named A’ali and gathered together again in the museum. The hall was closed for 5 years for renovation from 2013 to 2018. This renovated museum was designed by French architect Didier Blin again and provides archaeological excavations from the most recent findings. UNESCO World Heritage Site confirmed the authenticity of the Dilmun Burial Mounds in 2019.
2. Hall of Documents and Manuscripts
In this hall, you can find rare copies of the Qur’an that belonged to the 13th and 14th centuries, some letters that date back from the ruling Al Khalifa family, records on astronomy, and historical documents.
3. Hall of Dilmun
This exhibit represents the artworks and history of the Dilmun civilization from 5000 BC to 400 BC and its expanded trading network with the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia. In this hall, you can find Dilmunite pottery, artworks from Saar Temple, Barbar temple’s artifacts, Dilmunite stamp seals, etc.
4.Hall of Tylos and Islam
This exhibit represents the history of Bahrain and the time Hellenics influenced it. It also displays the interaction between the Characene kingdom and the Seleucid Empire. This hall features alabaster containers, glazed pottery and glasses, and jewelry dating back to that era. The exhibit’s Islamic part illustrates Bahrain’s adoption of Islam from the 7th century AD to the 18th century. It offers some artwork from the oldest mosque in Bahrain, the Khamis Mosque, and Kufic inscriptions displayed in the museum.
5. Hall of Traditional Trades and Crafts
This hall displays the traditional artisans by recreating a conventional Bazar of Bahrain, such as a portion of pearl diving (pulling pearls from wild mollusks), a key factor in the country’s pre-oil economy.
6. Hall of Customs and Traditions
This exhibit concentrates on Bahrain’s ceremonies and traditions before the finding of oil in 1932 and its subsequent modernization. You can find different aspects of the public’s daily life, such as their childhood, fashion, local religious and medical practices, marriage, and traditional house structure in Bahrain.
Bahrain National Museum is open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm and is closed on Tuesdays. This museum also provides regular daily boats for trips to the Bu Maher Fort on Muharraq island. A day tour trip to the Bahrain National Museum can be one of the best enjoyable activities in the region.
