The Kingdom of Two Seas

National Theatre of Bahrain, at night (obviously), Dec 2017 – It’s just beside the Bahrain National Museum

Since we’re on museums, here’s another short and quick post! Here’s our visit to the Bahrain National Museum on our 1 day transit in Bahrain in Dec 2017.

By the way, Bahrain means Two Seas in Arabic. Hence the title. My apologies for the short-cut way in titling my posts. As you can see, I’m on a blogging spree nowadays, thanks to Ramadan, and to the fact that I am no longer (finally) Acting Project Manager of the ITS2020 Project. (I’ve been transferred). I’m struggling to find good titles. If you have suggestions, please tell, or the titles would become increasingly crass, especially for places in the UAE with interesting names like Abu Dhabi (Father of the Gazelle), or Umm Al Quwain (Mother of Two Powers), or Ras Al Khaimah (Head of the Tent).

Anyway, here goes.




Bahrain National Museum, Manama, Bahrain

This ain’t nothing like the Louvre. It’s not an art museum for God’s sake. So, you’ll get scenes of village life …like this, below.


Scenes of Bahraini village life in the past. By the way, you’ll see similar scenes in all the Heritage Villages & Museums in the region, …Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, you name it


A vintage car, Bahrain National Museum

And this was our hotel, Bahrain International Hotel...


Anu, all dressed up in the national colours of Bahrain, for Bahraini National Day celebrations. …Hehe, kidding, it was just a coincidence. But we did visit on the exact day of the National Day, without knowing beforehand!


Wow, diamonds the size of ping pong balls, …the plastic variety


At a playground at the Avenues Park, across the road from the World Trade Centre (that building at the back, with the big ass fans)


Manama Skyline, Bahrain


I HEART BAHRAIN, Manama Souq

Alright, Ma’a Salama! Till we stopover again! For more Bahrain photos, check out this old post.

The French Museum in Arabia

The Louvre Abu Dhabi

Ahem, again taking the easy way out of blogging. Since we’re at museums, here’s the most famous one in the UAE currently, the Louvre, Abu Dhabi!

It’s associated with the world famous Louvre Museum of Paris. Yup, even museums have franchises now!!! (The only recollection of my one visit to the Musée du Louvre in Paris in 1994, was waiting for the crowd to clear to see the Mona Lisa painting… All this hassle to see a painting of an unknown lady??? And what’s so grand about the Venus de Milo statue, it doesn’t even have hands?)

But I still like museums in general, coz I can hang around, look at strange things and waste my time… (I’m a lazy bum after all, who likes to be entertained, in whatever way…) The missus? You dunno how much coaxing we did to make her agree to visit the museum… (But I think, she quite likes this one...)

Here’re some of the exhibits. We got audio guides for the visit (for Justin and I), and I used it for about 3 exhibits before giving up… Hey, I have a 3 year old kid with me, OK? What d’ya think a 3 year old boy will do in a place full of strange odds and ends… Seriously, museums should think of how to keep toddlers entertained enough, so that they don’t put their itchy hands on the thousands of interesting “toys” on display…


A two-headed monster! …Nah, it’s actually the oldest statue known to mankind, dating back to friggin 6,500 BC! (How do I know? Friggin Google man!) …Does that prove that two headed Ettins actually existed?! (Ettins - giants from my fantasy role-playing days in the 80’s. …Remember Ultima IV?)


Some Egyptian artefact – Why is that Baboon looking at that poor chap? Is it an object from the Planet of the Apes??


Pharaoh Ramses II, the stony version


Umm …Is this a Sphinx?


Some Chinese dragon? Lizard? Maybe a baby dragon? – It’d be really interesting if something like in Night at the Museum happens, huh?


Someone’s paper weight from the past probably… Maybe my cellophane tape dispenser, or photo frame of my wife and kid would be in a museum 2,000 years from now? Who knows?


It’s a …Monster? Mask? Alien? With a fish in its head? Maybe it’s one of those coconut monsters from the cartoon Moana (the Kakamora?)


Some chandelier thingy which people called art… Actually it’s, hmmm let’s see… The Fountain of Light, by Ai Weiwei

Now, for some paintings…


Napoleon Crossing the Alps


Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of a woman… OK, it’s not Mona Lisa, but at least we have one…


One of Van Gogh’s Self Portraits


Wait, what’s that? It’s a famous painting?!? My kid could draw that! Piet Mondrian’s Composition in Blue, Red, Yellow and Black, 1922


Anu, at the Louvre Abu Dhabi


C’mon, let’s go! It’s getting dark… And that’s how we spent our Chinese New Year’s Day (of 2018) in a museum! Cool, eh?

Much Ado about Sharjah

Sharjah, during a sandstorm… See the sea water on the promenade?? Yup, the wind was that strong! – View from the Sharjah Aquarium

Ramadan Kareem everyone!

Yeah, that time of year is upon us, again, where work hours are short, and schools start late (in the UAE where I'm at anyway, hehe). Productivity drops, traffic accidents increase, tempers flare (when they aren’t supposed to), and malls go quiet in the day (and become a hive of activity in the middle of the night!) Huge changes, but it’s a time a lot of Non-Muslims look forward to. (Why? When else can you get an excuse to get off work early???) I dunno about Muslims (coz I ain’t one), but I always feel a general calmness, an acceptance by the bosses and the higher-ups of laying off the work pressure (a rare thing in a society like Dubai), and a re-orientation of priorities towards family, friends and …God (instead of bloody work). A welcome change, wouldn’t you say?

I’m putting some pictures of our neighbouring emirate, Sharjah. Sharjah may be crowded, jammed up and disorganized in some way, but the ‘poor man’s’ version of Dubai has quite a lot of things going on that’s worth a visit, especially when you’re looking for something affordable. I’d say, its attractions are definitely more people-orientated (than the commercially driven attractions of Dubai). In fact, the kids love it. Here, have a look!


Underwater Tunnel, Sharjah Aquarium


Jayden and a sea turtle


A guitarfish!


Sharjah Aquarium – notice how small the kids are, especially Jayden? …That’s because this was taken more than 2 years ago, i.e. Jan 2017


Sharjah Maritime Museum, which is right beside the Sharjah Aquarium


Whoa?! Who are these men in white?


Pearls! Yup, that's what the UAE used to survive on...


Pearling industry - tools of the trade

We also visited the Museum of Islamic Civilization on the same day as our visit of Sharjah Aquarium and the Maritime Museum. Click on the link for a look.


The Central Souk, Sharjah (aka the Blue Souk) …honestly, looks more brown to me than blue


Sharjah Desert Park, which contains a children's farm, wildlife centre, natural history museum, Islamic garden, …etc. That background in the photo by the way, is a prop!




Arabian Wildlife Centre, part of the Sharjah Desert Park


A camel ride at the Children’s Farm


Islamic Garden …let’s go! It’s night already! – This is more recent – Nov 2018

To those who are fasting, have a blessed Ramadan, Selamat Berpuasa!

The First Christian Nation in History

Before I continue, I want to leave a small tribute to the many innocent lives lost in the suicide bomb attacks on Easter Day in Sri Lanka. There is absolutely no reason for the mindless killing, and I don’t see what purpose they serve. Those suicide bombers, whoever they are, ARE GOING TO HELL, whatever they believe in, as I do not believe that there is any one religion who say that killing innocent men, women and children, would get them to heaven. If heaven is indeed filled with twisted souls like these, God help heaven.

God, bless those who have left us, they are with You now. Bless their loved ones, and make it easy for them to continue with hope and love, despite their loss. Lastly, bring some sanity back to the growing numbers of extremists and fanatics, who claim to represent You. Let them dissipate and disappear. Let them understand the message of peace and love that You have spread to humankind…

………

Now, back to the blog, might as well continue with Armenia. As mentioned in the post before, Armenia happens to be the first nation in history, to officially adopt Christianity as its official religion, in AD 301, well before the Romans did! (And …I actually found this out only when writing my last blog post, ahem. Wikipedia, man! …Was completely unaware of this when we visited Armenia last July!!!)

Anyway, to cut the story short, the king of Armenia at that time, Tiridates III, had one of his advisors, a devout Christian named Grigor, tortured and thrown into a deep narrow pit, 60m below the ground (200 feet!), for refusing to lay a wreath on the feet of a goddess statue. (Armenia at that time had pagan gods). But that, I suspect, might not be the main reason the king did that. Grigor so happened to also be the son of the man who killed Tiridates’s father! (Now, if I were him, I might’ve done the same thing, …or worse).

Well, Grigor managed to survive 13 friggin years in that cell at the bottom of the pit, which could be accessed only by a ladder through a narrow hole in the ground, meaning he would’ve most probably be in absolute darkness for 13 friggin years! And imagine the smell from all that poo and pee (you think they’d have toilets? And nope, I’m sure there wasn’t a ventilation fan, or a window. Come to think of it, he could’ve have died from the methane generated from his own poo itself!) Luckily for him, a widow from the nearby village, threw a loaf of bread, daily into the hole. (Don’t ask me where he managed to get water to drink!?!)

Meanwhile, up above ground, Tiridates III did as all medieval kings did, fought wars, forged ties, broke ties, fought wars, etc. Then came a group of virgin nuns who were on the run from Rome. They sought the protection of Tiridates. One of the nuns, Rhipsime, was renowned for her beauty. Again, like what medieval kings are known for, Tiridates demanded that Rhipsime marries him. When she refused, the whole group of nuns (except one) were tortured and killed. (Yeah, people then were as cruel as people now!) (The sole survivor, later went on to become the nun who brought Christianity to Georgia). Because of guilt for that ghastly act, or maybe because of the retribution of God, Tiridates became mad, and became like a wild boar. One day, Tiridates’ sister had a dream about Grigor curing Tiridates. She searched and voila! Grigor was still alive after all these years! Sure enough, he cured Tiridates of his insanity and in return the king converted to Christianity and so did his entire kingdom, being the first to do so. Grigor became the first head of the Armenian Church, and is now known as St Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint of Armenia.

Now, here’re some pictures.


Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the main church in Yerevan City, Armenia


Attending mass on a Sunday morning, in Yerevan!


Statue of a national hero outside the St Gregory Cathedral, Yerevan, Armenia


And this is Khor Virap, the site of the deep dungeon cell, where St Gregory was imprisoned for 13 years (or 14 as some accounts go) “…Whew, what a hot day, but luckily, there are those free-flowing drinking fountains around!” – Armenia


The main church in Khor Virap, the Surb Asdvadzadzin Church (the Holy Mother of God Church) …Yup, every other church seems to be named that


And this is the entrance to the dungeon cell of St Gregory. It’s just a small hole with a ladder at the bottom right hand corner of the photo, obstructed by all the people. It’s not in the main church but in a small building surrounding the main church. Nope, yours truly was forbidden to climb down …by the missus, coz little Jayden would wanna follow. We let Justin climb down though, and he was the only one from our group who saw the cell!


The courtyard in front of the Surb Asdvadzadzin Church, Khor Virap. By the way, Khor Virap actually means ‘deep dungeon’ in Armenian


Hey, a marriage! …This was where Jayden met a ‘princess.’ Check out my old post


Marriage ceremony, Surb Asdvadzadzin Church, Khor Virap


View of the countryside, from Khor Virap. Can you see the outlines of two majestic mountains thru the hazy air? The bigger of them is Mount Ararat, the national symbol of Armenia (although it actually lies across the border in Turkey now)


That’s Khor Virap, with Mount Ararat in the background, on the hazy day of our visit


And that’s Khor Virap on a clear day, with Mount Ararat in all its glory! Compliments of Wikipedia (photo taken by Diego Delso). Thanks mate for the beautiful photo!