Today, I find myself in the midst of Bahrain’s former capital, Muharraq. A fuse of worshipped past and an authentic touch of nostalgia and vintage. Small walkways lead way to houses restored into pure artistry, a guide to the Gulf Islamic architecture. Never have I seen such beauty, such expression embodied in a building. The atmosphere whispers laughter of children from the nearby school, vitality from the plants that overlap from the terraces and cats that roam deep into the alleyways leading the way to the majesty of Muharraq.
Where to get started, though, in a maze? The clear way is diminished to my site, yet I know that in the greatest of unclarity, there is an undiscovered purpose to it.
The maze leads me to the divine house of Shaikh Isa bin Ali House. A house that seems to be a fortress that epitomizes granular work and patience.
A house so subtle, so divine, so untouched. Smooth and impeccably flat walls shaded with different colours of browns and whites, mandala-like patterns drawn into the walls by hand, and dark brown completely carved out wooden doors crafted by hand with a heavy golden bust half wring hung on the door, used as what we in the western world refer to ‘the doorbell’.
Through an angled architectural build, stairs winded up to the second floor, a place possessing over a lion’s eye, the full overview of Muharraq. Small, enclosed buildings stand impeccably beautiful with again mandate-like drawings and artistically carved-out wooden doors. A beauty so profound that pigeons rest in the shade of its facets. A cool breeze runs over my skin as I enter the room built on top of the King’s house roof.
Ever so simple yet serene is the ceiling which seems to be made out of braided sticks with wood pieces as a basis.
The Bahrain flag flutters in the winds at the mosque and the palm trees dangle weightlessly over the walls of his house. Just one house, one street, and I become an imagionalist of how I will, someday, craft my very own house and the statement of its architecture. Granular detail found in every component of the house merges together to become the beautiful house I experience.
As I savour a juicy mandarin and salty pistachios, the school run had commenced, and kids walk down the small alleyway that leads deeper into the streets that behold magic, with their backpacks hanging loosely on their backs as they kick their football in front of them and happily skip their way home.
The alleyway, a play between creative minds and the boundless independence of stray cats. People step foot into their home, behind ordinary doors. Yet I know that it might as well be a hidden gem.
26 houses that embody the story of Bahrain, its history, traditions, and culture. 26 houses, which once were homes of important men and women, valued by their society through their achievements that brought new perspectives and evolution.
One house, in particular, made me redefine my imagination and sparked my inner creativity to the fullest. The House of Abdullah Al Zayed. The man who laid the cornerstone of Journalism in Bahrain. You could also say he was a leader in his craft and brought writing of literature and history to Bahrain through the aspiring souls he inspired with his work. It conveys a divine atmosphere of harmony, success and inspiration. Highly enticing. From the flooring to the architecture to the detail of the crystal door decorations whose light reflected back on the wooden flooring. Whereas other homes express a grounded and earthy environment, this house, created of a blend of blinding whites and natural wood, expressed something rather Mediterranean. Looking up to the ceiling offers the view of unprecedented purity.
Abstract art hangs on the walls; rooms are cleverly hidden in corners to making the house itself an exploration, an upper living room of cushions, glass tables and candles and a tree that grows vigorously amidst it all. As I identify myself as an artist, I couldn’t help but peek inside a, behind a steel door hidden chamber, submerged into the old walls of Bahrain, a chamber full of art. Walking through the works of art, it could be seen that, like with each creation in life, each piece carried the purpose of conveying a certain meaning.
I guess what Muharraq and its 26 houses really convey is that, a single thing can be expressed in a thousand different ways through the presence of culture, tradition and history, through handcrafted art and through unspoken words.
A place of enthralling ingenuity.
