A bird’s eye view of Manama

Manama is the capital and largest city in Bahrain. For the past several hundred years it has been an important trading center in the Persian Gulf. With much unrest in the northern countries of the Middle East, many large companies and wealth families moved there head quarters to Manama. In the mid 20th century Bahrain’s oil wealth helped spur fast growth and Manama became the mercantile and financial hub of the Middle East. In the 1980’s Bahrain saw a constructions boom which attracted a larger number of foreigners from India who now outnumber the Bahrainis two-to-one. Bahrain have limited oil reserves and is now exploiting the lucrative financial services industry with over 200 financial institutions and banks based there. It is the financial hub for the Persian Gulf and the center of Islamic banking. Putting it on the map, click on this link

We have been to Manama many times and have driven around parts of the city. You sort of get a feel to the city but cannot put all the parks together until we discovered La Domain 34 restaurant. We recently found this wonderful restaurant for Friday brunch. It is located in the Diplomatic Area on the 34th floor of The Domain, an upscale hotel. Besides offering a fantastic Southern France inspired menu and free flowing drinks, it has a wonderful view of the city. I was finally able to get a bird’s eye view and really connect the city. I was blown away by the views, the reclaimed land being developed, great architect and the beautiful shades of the aqua-blue waters of the gulf. Check it out.