One of the world’s leading pearling museums is set to open its doors in Muharraq in March next year and will feature jewellery created by Jacques Cartier after his early 20th Century visit to Bahrain.
Plans for the museum, currently under construction in the historic pearling path, were revealed by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) during celebrations of World Tourism Day yesterday at the Pearling Path Visitor Centre in Muharraq.
“We are hoping to open the Museum of Pearls in March 2022,” Baca director general for culture and arts Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, told the GDN.
“This is part of our efforts to create a dialogue around Bahrain’s intangible cultural heritage, which we will be further discussing on Thursday during the third Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum.”
Baca commemorated World Tourism Day yesterday with a lecture about ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’ by Professor Robert Carter from the British archaeological mission, in which he highlighted the importance of the pearling path in sustainable development.
The Pearling Path is expected to attract 450,000 visitors per year, after five years, according to a conservative estimate by Prof Carter, and to help Bahrain achieve its goal of attracting 15 million international visitors per year.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, during which flight restrictions had a drastic impact on visitor numbers, Bahrain regularly had 11-12m annual visitors.
“Since the beginning, tourism has been intertwined with Bahrain’s cultural sector, and in addition to celebrating World Tourism Day, we also commemorate Arab Tourism Day on February 25, when we start our annual cultural programme with Spring of Culture,” explained Baca president Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.
“Culture is a pillar of sustainable development to elevate local communities, and to attract tourism to a country. And, as Bahrain and the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, culture plays an integral role in the recovery of the tourism sector.”
Shaikha Mai also revealed that a book commemorating Unesco World Heritage sites in the Arab world is set to be unveiled later this year at the Paris headquarters of the UN organisation.
This book comes in anticipation of the 10th anniversary, next year, of the Pearling Path being named as a Unesco World Heritage site on June 30, 2012.
The Pearling Path site, originally inscribed as ‘Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy’ by Unesco, is also set to further integrate oral histories by pearling families into its cultural buildings, as previously reported by the GDN.
One such oral history has already led to the discovery of a locally-remembered well, which was demolished without trace, until stories and excavation work at the Jalahma House revealed an official inscription, which confirmed its location, builder and purpose.
Baca and the archaeological team, led by Prof Carter, who are working on the Pearling Path, have been working with pearling merchant families, especially those still engaged in the trade, to integrate these stories into the historical district.
Families including the Bin Mattar, Fakhro and Al Mahmood families, renowned for their deep family histories with the trade, are helping the team.
This initiative comes as part of plans to help both local and international audiences engage with and learn about Bahrain’s history and its pearling heritage.
Prof Carter also stressed that the Pearling Path provides infrastructure projects such as multi-storey car parks, public squares and shopping centres, in addition to commercial and entertainment projects, which constitute an economic contribution to the entire community – citizens and residents alike.
“The city of Muharraq is witnessing a continuous development process aimed at restoring its authentic cultural memory and its position as a centre for creativity and civilised production, in addition to drawing the world’s attention to a development model that takes culture as a pillar and basis for strengthening its tangible and intangible cultural infrastructure,” Shaikha Mai added.
Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s ambassador to France, also attended the event, which featured a tour of the Qasiriya Souq and a performance by Galali Folklore Band.
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