Muharraq Island

Muharraq

Muharraq Location of Muharraq Island in Bahrain
Geography
Location	Persian Gulf
Coordinates	26.25°N 50.65°E / 26.25; 50.65
Archipelago	Bahrain
Adjacent to	Persian Gulf
Highest elevation	10 m (30 ft)
Administration
Bahrain
Demographics
Demonym	Bahraini
Population	200000
Additional information
Time zone	AST (UTC+3)
ISO code	BH-14
Official website	www.bahrain.com

Muharraq Island (Arabic: جزيرة المحرق), formerly known as Moharek, is the second largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island. It has a distance of 4 km (2.5 mi) east of the capital, Manama, on Bahrain Island.

History

It is named after Muharraq City, the former capital of Bahrain. The Al Khalifa dynasty settled there in the nineteenth century and resided there until 1923. The island dominated trade, fishing and especially pearls industries in Bahrain. The Pearl center was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2012. In recent years, north of Muharraq Island have a major reclamation of some artificial islands like Amwaj Islands. The south of the island, at Hidd district, the new Bahrain International Investment Park of the free zone (BIIP) was built. And in the far south, new Khalifa bin Saruman harbor, which opened in 2009.

Demography

There are several towns and villages located on the Island, including:

• Al Muharraq
• Al Dair
• Arad, formerly a separate island of its own
• Busaiteen
• Hidd
• Galali
• Halat Bu Maher
• Samaheej

Administration

The island belongs to Muharraq Governorate.

Transportation

The island has the 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) Bahrain International Airport (IATA: BAH, ICAO: OBBI) that follows the long east–west axis. The island has the 900 metres (3,000 ft) Muharraq Airfield (ICAO code:none) adjacent to Bahrain International Airport. There are three causeways connecting Muharraq Island with Manama on Bahrain Island:

• Shaikh Hamad Bridge: From Muharraq City to Diplomatic Area
• Shaikh Isa bin Salman Causeway: From Muharraq City/Busaiteen to Diplomatic Area
• Shaikh Khalifa Bridge: From Hidd to Juffair

Image gallery

• 
  Map 1
• 
  District Map
• 
  Muharraq in the foreground; Manama on Bahrain Island in the background
• 
  Shaikh Isa bin Salman Causeway

Bibliography

• Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878), "Bahrein" , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 3 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 240.
• Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911), "Bahrein Islands" , in Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 3 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 212.