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Bahrain, November 22


Another holiday for me today! We have an arrangement that if one of us needs a rest, or simply can’t be bothered, we take it easy!  Glad I decided against the tour as my feet suffered greatly after pounding the shopping centre for four hours!  And with not much to show for it!  

We arrived in Bahrain at 9 am - as we were slowly edging towards the pier I could hear bagpipes!  Sure enough, there was a group of Arab men in cardinal red robes playing beautiful Scottish music!  They played all the well known tunes for over an hour and entertained those of us on the port side as well as people going on tours.  I thought about the bagpipes and why they’d be welcoming us here in Bahrain and so I googled the origins and sure enough the bagpipes originated in the Middle East!!  Who’d have thought!!! 

A little bit about Bahrain, it is an island country in Western Asia, situated on the Persian Gulf.  It comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural and 33 artificial islands.  It is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia and is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. 

Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in banking and tourism and so many of the world’s largest financial institutions have a presence in the country’s capital. 

I did leave the ship, saw a duty free shop out there and went to investigate.  It consisted mostly of tobacco, wine and spirits, chocolate and a small selection of stuff I didn’t need.  However I did talk to some lovely guys at the counter and told them that our friend Barrie Gallacher designed the gardens for the Crown Prince of Bahrain a few years ago!  That brought a big smile to their faces!  Sadly there wasn’t a tour to the Palace for us to see the gardens! 

George is now back from his tour, showed me pics of him at the mosque and yes, all gowned up in a white robe!!!!!  The ladies had to gown up too.  

Back from dinner and the show, now for tomorrow!  Another day, another adventure!  

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