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A new comprehensive guide book bursting with suggestions of things to do in Bahrain and where to go has been launched.
Handily-sized, its author says it’s been made to measure and will easily snuggle into a ladies handbag despite its 216 pages being packed with listings and images.
Streetsmart Bahrain 2012 Guide has been put together by Melissa van Maasdyk, the former editor of Time Out Bahrain, who has been living in the kingdom for six years.
She said: “I have lived in New York and Paris but Bahrain is completely different and it is out of this world,” she said. “I want people to come here and explore the place.
“But I meet so many people who are bored and say they don’t know what to do here and I see tourists who are in all the wrong places – stuck in a mall when they could be exploring Muharraq!
“Then I began researching and found that even I knew little about the number of delights that can be found here. I learned more about Bahrain as I put the book together.”
An admirer of the local culture who loves to meet people and eat at street cafes, she said that the book was a result of her passion for the country and her desire to tell the world about all the exciting and wonderful facets of the kingdom.
Sipping her favourite chai haleeb on the benches of Al Maseela cafe in Manama, Melissa, 44, said that Streetsmart Bahrain includes maps, pictures and personal accounts of people who can offer varied insights into the place they call home.
The book has various sections that include tourist attractions, shopping centres, eating out venues, beach resorts and hotels, beach clubs, spas and salons and nightlife. There is even a section dealing with the history on the country, archaeological sites, forts, religion and natural beauty.
There is also an itinerary of must-dos for a one-day to a week-long tour of the island and its surroundings. For people who do not know where to start they can take assistance from the ‘Drive Time’ section which tells readers how to begin a tour of the historical and heritage sites of the country.
If walking appeals, another section entitled ‘Walk this Way’ chalks the Muharraq walking tour, a route that takes people on a trek around traditional houses, as well as museums and coffee shops in the area. Melissa said: “Qal’at Al Bahrain has 5,000 years of history and people don’t even know about it. It’s insane. People queue for the Tower of London and it is only a few hundred years old.
“You can hire a boat and go to the Jerada Island for a few hours. It’s a spit of sand and it is just like the Maldives and the water is a majestic, crystal-clear turquoise blue. You can have a barbeque, snorkel, have a picnic and come back. That is the sort of things that people could do.
“It’s sad that we don’t have many beaches here but you can go to Al Dar Island for just BD5 for a trip and you can have a great time trying out pearl diving or just having a picnic.”
A major section of the book has been dedicated to the various cuisines and numerous street food joints in the kingdom ... something Melissa confessed to be the favourite part of putting the guide together. Although it is not a comprehensive list of eating out places, she has highlighted a number of restaurants offering what she says is Bahrain’s favourite dish – a tikka, rice dishes and grills from Persia, mezze from Lebanon, stew from Iraq as well as Jordanian and Palestinian sweets.
“I always thought that Tikka was an Indian dish. I didn’t know it was from Persia and that it is now a favourite Bahraini dish,” said Melissa, who found out about the popularity of street food through the guide’s designer Bader Kamal.
“Bader has some 3,000 followers on the social networking site Twitter and he tweeted and found the most popular street food places and this was my greatest discovery while researching.”
Other highlights in the book include information on an elderly carpenter who sells antiques, the oldest sword-maker in the region and tips on getting local dresses and suits tailored in Bahrain.
Melissa, who is moving to Canada shortly, hopes to continue updating the guide every year through her publishing company that she set up to publish her book. The first edition is available in local bookstores priced BD7.900.
