Budget · 3-hour walk · Manama
Old Manama in three hours
The gateway arch and the covered souq behind it, the national museum, and the grand mosque.
Bahrain's capital is small and its old quarter is a single souq behind one landmark gate, which makes the walking short. The National Museum is the stop that justifies the route: it covers the Dilmun civilisation, which traded out of this island five thousand years ago and which most visitors have never heard of.
The route, stop by stop
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Bab Al Bahrain
The 1949 gateway that once stood on the waterfront, before land reclamation put it half a kilometre inland.
20 min here Walk here → -
Manama Souq
Gold, spices and textiles in covered lanes behind the gate. The gold souq is a separate, quieter section.
35 min here Walk here → -
Bahrain National Museum
Arrive by taxi from the previous stop
Dilmun-era burial mounds, seals and trade goods from a civilisation that ran the Gulf five thousand years ago.
55 min here Walk here → -
Al Fateh Grand Mosque
Arrive by taxi from the previous stop
Holds seven thousand, with a fibreglass dome that was the largest of its kind. Free guided tours for non-Muslims except Fridays.
35 min here Walk here →
More in Manama
Every walking route in Manama, or the full Manama guide for where to stay and what a day costs.