You missed another one – right here, look!” pointed Mohammed Slais, our Bahraini pearl diver, as he gesticulated to the tiny yet luminous natural pearl that he had just discovered in my oyster. I wasn’t very good at this, despite having spent over an hour looking for pearls and performing what felt like numerous intricate surgical operations to any number of molluscs. “Natural pearls are much smaller than cultured (farmed) pearls, and less than 10 per cent of your oyster catch will have one,” he cautioned as he pointed to the two bucketfuls of shells that he had just dived for.

Mohammed estimates that he is one of fewer than 1,500 young Bahrainis who still actively dive for pearls in the rich oyster beds of the Bahraini coast, doing it as a hobby rather than as a full-time job. He uses only traditional methods, and much like generations of Bahrainis before him, he dives to depths of six metres without an oxygen tank, wetsuit or goggles, using only a tortoiseshell nose clip. In the past, divers would go down as far as 25m by tying stones to their feet.

“The best oyster beds in the world are around Bahrain, so everyone would come to our waters for centuries,” he explained. This is down to a unique topographical quirk that creates ideal conditions for these coveted molluscs. “Bahrain means ‘two seas’ in Arabic; this refers to the two kinds of water around the island. Freshwater springs are found in multiple locations beneath the saltwater ocean – there are spots where you can even dive under the layer of salt and get to where the fresh water
lies underneath.”

While pearling has indeed been central to the history of Bahrain since ancient times, Mohammed is more focused on its recent history, since the birth of the modern Bahraini kingdom in the 18th century. He credits the Al Khalifa royal family for introducing rules that made the profession a viable choice, and it thrived here on the island for three centuries.

“It was extremely hard and perilous to be a pearl diver. You could be in the sea for more than four months, starting from the end of May,” Mohammed tells me, noting that many a poor soul was lost during this period. “Even today, most Bahrainis will have some connection to either boat-building, diving, trading or somehow helping in this operation.”

Later, Mohammed mentioned his great grandfather had been a diver. By the early 1930s, however, a difficult period for pearl fishers had begun. The Bahraini pearling industry came to an abrupt halt when Asia started mass-exporting cultured pearls produced by oyster farms. But nothing beats the real thing.

“When you find a large natural pearl it is a spiritual experience; it connects you with your ancestors. But you also feel a strong sense of achievement,” smiled Mohammed as he showed me his prized collection of the most valuable finds that he had dived for over the past decade. My haul was less impressive. I had found 22 tiny pearls among Mohammed’s oysters, but I was more than satisfied. Visitors who book pearl-diving experiences here (there are several operators) usually get to keep their sparkling discoveries. For me, Bahrain was already living up to its nickname: the ‘Pearl of the Arabian Gulf’.

Mythical Beginnings

Pearling runs through the spine of this country. I was eager to discover more about its origins on the island and just how far back its story went, so I met up with Salman Al Mahari, the Director of Archaeology and Museums for Bahrain, at the remarkable National Museum in capital Manama, one of the first institutions of its kind in the Gulf region.

“Foreign visitors are often shocked to discover our history dates back more than 5,000 years – to the Bronze Age civilisation of Dilmun,” said Salman as we walked through shining new galleries showcasing treasures found in dozens of sites across the island. “Since the first Danish archaeological expedition in the 1950s, led by Geoffrey Bibby, we know that Bahrain was the heart of ancient Dilmun and acted as a strategic trading entrepôt between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.”

Salman pointed to a striking sculpture of a bull head, dating back to 2,500 BC, telling me how the people here had made the most of the pivotal trading commodity of the time: copper. “Dilmun is, in many ways, connected to the narrative around the mythical Garden of Eden,” he continued, going on to explain how archaeological discoveries had pointed to what was then a lush island with plenty of fresh water and an advanced economy.

I was curious about the time before the Danish expedition, and what people knew of the island’s past back then. “Of course, this is where folklore and mythology steps in,” Salman explained, showing me a wealth of Dilmun soapstone seals, miniature masterpieces portraying the complex society and culture of the time. “In our case, Bahrain had a starring role in the world’s oldest poem – contemporary to the early Dilmun civilisation – the Epic of Gilgamesh.”

For those unfamiliar with the lengthy Sumerian legend: King Gilgamesh, the hero of the world’s first epic, is after the secret of immortality. His adventures lead him to Dilmun, where he is told that the secret is found in a flower at the bottom of a freshwater sea. He dove down with stones attached to his feet (much as Bahrain’s pearl divers would do centuries later) and carried the flower to the surface. Many historians have translated the description of the ‘Flower of Immortality’ as an oyster containing a beautiful pearl. However, while Gilgamesh was resting after the dive, a snake swallowed the pearl, shedding its skin and emerging anew, sparkling and youthful.

“Bahraini pearls were treasured back in antiquity, when they were referred to in Akkadian as ‘Fish Eyes’. They were a prized possession,” smiled Salman, “even if they didn’t quite deliver the promise of immortality.”

Ancient Discoveries

I headed next to the World Heritage site of Qal’at Al Bahrain, also known as the Portuguese Fort, to continue exploring the island’s fascinating past and its connection to pearling. As the surviving edifice didn’t look particularly exceptional, I was keen to understand why UNESCO deemed it so special.

“Don’t let the simplicity of the existing Fort fool you – the site conceals the secrets of many a civilisation beneath it,” assured the renowned archaeologist Dr Pierre Lombard, a leading authority on Bahraini history. He guided me around the in-situ museum, an architectural achievement in itself, which showcased the remnants of civilisations past, including the Dilmun era, the Tylos era and the Pre-Islamic and Islamic periods of the island.

It was in Qal’at Al Bahrain that I made a real-life connection to the tales of the Epic of Gilgamesh. A small yet prominent exhibit contained a dozen Dilmun-era clay pots found below the floor of a late Dilmun temple, each containing a snake skeleton curled inside, with many holding a single pearl! The parallels with the ending of Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality were clear and demonstrated a religious connection between the myth and the intricate theological traditions of the late Dilmun period.

“Bahrain hosts multiple necropolises, not only from the Dilmun era but also from the later Tylos period, with many tombs thankfully still intact,” explained Dr Lombard. With that in mind, we drove to the nearby site of Abu Saiba, a Hellenistic burial ground only one-quarter excavated, containing approximately 300 graves. “Androsthenes of Thasos – one of Alexander the Great’s geographers present on the island in approximately the 3rd century BC – described Bahrain (which they’d renamed Tylos) as a very green, wealthy island,” explained Dr Lombard. The ongoing archaeological expedition had revealed many surprises, including pearl necklaces, rings and earrings, demonstrating a thriving pearling tradition.

In Tylos’ necropolises we find an amalgam of funerary styles and traditions. Dr Lombard explained them to me as we walked: some had been inspired by Palmyra (Syria); there were also tombstones reminiscent of those of the Parthians of ancient Iran, as well as the inclusion of Bahraini customary plaster figurines representing mourning ladies. “But if you think this is impressive, wait till you see what’s next,” teased Dr Lombard.

Nothing could prepare me for the awe-inspiring scale of the UNESCO-listed Dilmun necropolises in A’ali, a mere 20 minutes further down the road from Abu Saiba. There I saw thousands of small hills, each one three to five metres high, packed densely together in a continuous area. It made me think that they must be an obscure phenomenon, like naturally occurring sand dunes. And yet these burial mounds were constructed 4,000 years ago, creating an otherworldly sight interrupted only by the contemporary human settlements that encircled them. Bahrain has, in fact, dozens of similar sites, and it’s possible to visit many of them, with some having been excavated and partially opened to demonstrate the complex, multi-level structures that lie beneath the mounds.

Restoring The Shine

Back at the National Museum Complex, I met with Sheikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Director General of Culture and Arts, whose organisation spearheads the effort to revitalise interest in the country’s history and pearling traditions.

“There is a connection to the past that is deep-rooted among Bahrainis,” explained Sheikha Hala, adding that “the legacy of our unique topography as an island in the Arabian Gulf is everywhere, starting with the Dilmun seafaring traditions and all the way up to the modern era and our position as a global centre for communication and commerce.”

I enquired about the highly modern look and feel of capital Manama, with its skyscrapers and futuristic buildings dominating the skyline. “The truth is, much like a big part of this region, the drive to modernise may have sometimes overshadowed the immense importance of our rich historical heritage,” she said.

I recalled Mohammed Slais explaining how the decline of the modern pearling industry in the 1930s coincided with the discovery of oil in the Kingdom. Bahrain was the first Gulf nation to find precious ‘black gold’ in commercial quantities, but pearling was a key source of income for the island in the preceding three centuries. Back then, life was centred on the settlement of Muharraq, which has been populated as far back as the Dilmun and Tylos eras. In 1932, the capital was moved from Muharraq to Manama, inadvertently preserving much of the nation’s modern pearling history.

“We are extremely lucky that so many historic buildings in Muharraq have survived. We’re now working around the clock to bring them back to their former glory,” explained Sheikha Hala. She outlined the vision behind the preservation of the UNESCO-listed site of Muharraq as an ongoing tribute to the nation’s pearling legacy, explored via a trail known as the Pearling Path. “We’re restoring over 25 edifices at the moment, each representing the livelihoods of local residents and their trades, among them merchants, sailors, boat owners and makers, captains, divers, haulers and sail-makers,” she continued, adding that “many buildings won’t just be museums, but rather vibrant, living spaces hosting cultural and community events and activities.”

I was eager to experience the Pearling Path in real life, so I met with Fatima and Sara, a pair of young local architects working with the Culture Authority restoration team. We started walking the 3.5km route from the 19th-century fort at Bu Maher, first crossing an overground walking bridge that links to the heart of Muharraq city. We snaked through a series of public squares, historic buildings and mosques. At the time of my visit, most of the old homes, stores and mosques were closed while undergoing restoration. This is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 – “Inshallah,” smiled Fatima.

My walk concluded with a visit to the futuristic Pearling Path Visitor Center, built around an amarat, an estate once owned by the Fakhro family, originally boat and timber traders heavily involved with the pearling trade. The old ruins are overshadowed by a gigantic roof structure, built to provide both protection from the elements and a community meeting space. Its design is typical of Gulf Islamic architecture, with ventilation achieved via a series of 15 ‘wind tower’ structures.

As we walked, Fatima and Sara explained that the Pearling Path isn’t just geared towards attracting foreign visitors, but to encourage a generation of young Bahrainis to reconnect with their heritage and cultural identity. I departed as entranced as I imagined they too would be.

New capital, old traditions

Having visited the past, I wanted to see what became of Bahrain’s pearling heritage in the modern-day capital. Fadhel Al Sharaf, the founder of Manama Story, an e-museum platform, guided me around the city, beginning our walk in historic Bab Al Bahrain, the gateway to Manama’s market area. Between skyscrapers and modern developments, the ancient secrets of commerce and trade are all found here. Fadhel showed me the location where pearls were auctioned in the early 20th century.

“This was done using hand gestures rather than verbal communication, so no one would know the final price of the transaction!” he explained. We also visited the historic Khalaf House, one of the oldest traditional pearling-merchant houses in Bahrain and – quite possibly – its most atmospheric. “Of course, the pearling legacy reaches beyond Muharraq, and many sites in Manama are also worth visiting, not least the vibrant souq,” finished Fadhel.

The evening before my departure, I visited Mohamed Al Mahmood, a seventh-generation pearl trader, in his current shop inside a modern mall in Manama. “In Bahrain, by law, you can only sell natural pearls; the importing of cultured pearls is not allowed,” he explained as he demonstrated jewellery designs inspired by the rich traditions of the region.

These days, Mohamed is just one of a handful of active sellers left in the country. But the opening of the Danat Institute in Manama, a dedicated facility specialising in the valuation of natural pearls, shows there is intent to preserve not just the heritage of the pearling trade, but to help it thrive again in the future. “They say diamonds are forever, but in Bahrain we know that only pearls are the symbol of eternal beauty,” intoned Mohamed, carefully handing me an iridescent natural pearl that seemed to glisten impossibly in the indoor light. “Next time you return to Bahrain, you can dive for one yourself,” he grinned.