A HISTORIC natural island off the coast of Busaiteen is set to be registered as a national heritage site, councillors learnt yesterday.
Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf told the Muharraq Municipal Council in writing that Al Sayah Island, famous for its natural water spring, would be registered after receiving all relevant approvals.
He added that the Urban Planning and Development Authority is working to get the island listed off the Eskan Bank books.
“We will co-ordinate with the bank as we provide them with replacement property so that we can get the island registered as a national heritage site,” said Mr Khalaf.
“The massive move to protect the site is in partnership with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca).”
In September, the GDN quoted the ministry as saying that reclamation work on the new BD94 million bridge linking Muharraq and Manama, which started in January last year, had been rerouted to avoid the island.
The 550m bridge is an extension of the 7.8km-long North Muharraq Highway project which also includes the 4.2km-long Muharraq ring road.
Financing for the entire project, which will connect north Busaiteen and Bahrain Bay, is being covered by the Saudi Fund for Development.
The GDN reported in January this year that municipal councillors and residents of Muharraq had been campaigning to protect the island and were seeking the Cabinet’s intervention to stop reclamation work, which is being carried out to create new plots of land for future projects.
The council wanted the island to be declared a protected reservation before it is lost to planned urbanisation.
Area councillor Waheed Al Mannai told the GDN that efforts to get the island declared as a national heritage site should be stepped up.
“For now the island is protected as the ministry’s maps show that the new bridge has been rerouted away from it by 34m with two water openings that are 21m and 31m wide to allow water flow circulation in the area,” he said.
He added that the island could have a natural park, restaurants and cafés, and it could even be turned into a proper venue for events.
“However, since it is just 50m away from the reclaimed coast of Busaiteen it would be nice to have a wooden jetty.”
The island has a unique history filled with the lore of Prophet Mohammed passing through Al Sayah during a long journey, with tales of an evil Jinn inhabiting the island also being passed down for generations.
The Jinn, according to folklore, is named Bu Gedo that translates to father of the ‘Gedo’, a traditional sheesha popular in Bahrain, and demands sacrifice in the form of food left out during public picnics on the island.
However, a number of scientific studies conducted by researchers from Bahrain University concluded that the sounds attributed to Bu Gedo over hundreds of years were the natural ecological release of air during low and high tides.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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