Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy

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The Bahrain Pearling Path: A Unique Testimony of an Island's Prosperity

The Bahrain Pearling Path, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012, stands as a remarkable testament to the economic and cultural prosperity of an island nation. This site, located in Muharraq City, Bahrain, offers a unique insight into the pearl diving tradition that once dominated the Gulf economy for over two millennia.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The site consists of seventeen buildings in Muharraq City, three offshore oyster beds, part of the seashore and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, from where boats used to set off for the oyster beds. The listed buildings include residences of wealthy merchants, shops, storehouses and a mosque. The site is the last remaining complete example of the cultural tradition of pearling and the wealth it generated at a time when the trade dominated the Gulf economy (2nd century to the 1930s, when Japan developed cultured pearls). It also constitutes an outstanding example of traditional utilization of the sea’s resources and human interaction with the environment, which shaped both the economy and the cultural identity of the island’s society.

Encyclopedia Record: Bahrain Pearling Trail

The Bahrain Pearling Path is a serial cultural heritage site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on June 30, 2012. It consists of three oyster beds in the northern waters of Bahrain, a segment of the coast and the seafront Bu Mahir fort on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, and 17 buildings in historical section of Muharraq connected by a 3.5 km visitor pathway.

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