the crown colonies - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative

THE INDIAN OCEAN 249
islands together, they would comprise an area a little
smaller than the Isle of Man.
The largest of the islands is Bahrain itself, a flat, lowlying,
sandy land relieved by bright green oases and
palm groves and stretches of cultivated acres. It is
overlooked by the hill of Jebel Dukhan, the Mountain
of the Mist-a somewhat flattering description, since it
is only 400 feet high. Bahrain contains the capital of
the little kingdom and centre of its commerce, Manama,
which sprawls along the seashore for about three miles.
There are 25,000 people living in Manama, which boasts
its own municipal council and is connected by good
roads with the two other places of importance in the
island, Sukhair and Budaiya, respectively 18 and 12
miles distant. Bahrain is the gateway for trade with the
mainland countries of Najd and Hasa, and from its
convenient geographical position enjoys a measure of
steady prosperity.
Bahrain is 27 miles long by 10 miles wide, and is a
long way ahead of the next largest island, lying a mile
away to the north-east, which is called Muharraq.
This curve-shaped island is only four miles long by
half-a-mile wide. It contains the other two towns of
note: Muharraq itself, with its 25,000 inhabitants, and
Hadd. The other three islands are Sitra, with half its
area cultivable; Nabi Saleh, two miles in circumference
only, but wholly fertile; and tiny Jezeyra, notable for
its date plantations. In addition to the towns mentioned,
there are about a hundred villages scattered through the
islands, each surrounded by its date groves and
cultivated fields, and giving a very charming scenic
effect. Except Bahrain, all the islands are coral formations,
as are the three rocky islets which are included
in the group, but are not inhabited.