Sunni Islamist legislators support a greater role for shari’a law in daily life. No women were elected to office in that year’s polls, but six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom’s indigenous Jewish and Christian communities. ... follows indigenous practices. The island’s later history saw it absorbed by the empire of Babylon and the Greek Empire under the strict rule of Alexander the Great.Although Bahrain has been in the news intermittently over the last couple of years for political reasons, tourists should not be deterred from visiting this peaceful country. With 1500 active members, and the backing of the Islamic Scholars Council and Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, it won all but one of the 18 seats it contested.The British withdrew from Bahrain on August 15, 1971, making Bahrain an independent emirate.Most of the country’s oil wells are situated in the vicinity of Jabal ad Dukhan.Up until 1521, the name “Bahrain” referred to the larger region including Ahsa, Qatif (both became the eastern province of Saudi Arabia) as well as Awal (now Bahrain Islands). During the summer, from April to October, afternoon temperatures average 104°F (40°C). Today, the site is considered to be the ‘ancient harbor and capital’ of Dilmun, and is located near the modern village of Saar in the northwestern part of the island. Until Bahrain embraced Islam in 629 C.E., it was a centre for Nestorian Christianity.In 1970, Iran simultaneously laid claim to both Bahrain and the other Persian Gulf islands. Since the early 1980s, desalination plants, which render seawater suitable for domestic and industrial use, have provided about 60 percent of daily water consumption needs.Bahrain University offers standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the College of Health Sciences—operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health—trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics. Bahrain - Bahrain - Cultural life: Bahrain’s island location has made it unique among Persian Gulf states. The region stretched from Basrah to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman.
Life expectancy for the total population was 74.45 years in 2006.Education is free. Both houses have 40 members. About 2300 B.C.E., Bahrain became a center of one of the ancient empires trading between Mesopotamia (now … British influence continued to grow, culminating with the appointment of advisor Charles Belgrave, who established a modern education system there.Considered to be one of the 15 Middle East states that comprise the “Cradle of Humanity,” Bahrain has a total area of 266 square miles (688 square kilometers), which is about four times the size of the District of Columbia in the United States, although smaller than the nearby King Fahd Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.Football (soccer) is the most popular modern sport, while traditional pastimes such as falconry, horse riding, and gazelle and hare hunting are still practiced by wealthier Bahrainis. Horse and camel racing are popular public entertainments.Bahrain receives little precipitation. Sporadic violence between the government and Islamists during the mid-1990s left over 40 people dead.Black American performer Michael Jackson’s relocation to the Kingdom has given an international spotlight to the lively local rap scene, with international DJs now appearing in the Kingdom, like DJ Outlaw.Shi’a activists fomented unrest sporadically from 1994 to 1997 and have engaged in protests with occasional low-level violence, relating the 2002 constitution, elections, unemployment, and the release of detainees. The traditional flatbread called Khubz, is a large flatbread baked in a special oven.