Christmas in Bahrain 2009

Kerrie & Brett Christmas Day 2009

Jacob and Jane playing with their new boats in the pool on Christmas day.

Its been great to have Jacob here for Christmas. He arrived on December 22nd after 19.5 hours of flight time. Fortunately all his flights flew and only the last one was delayed for about an hour.

We started our Christmas day by sleeping in until about 9:00 a.m. We opened our gifts and then got ready for church which started at 11:00 a.m. We only had sacrement meeting because it was Christmas Day so by 12:30 we were headed home for lunch and naps.

We had all the regular Christmas cuisine of ham, rolls, chips, cheese, crackers, sausage, and of course homemade ice cream. We also added a few new foods like gourmet dates, and nuts (pistachio, hazel, peanut, etc.). We've played games (board & wii), played pool, swam in our pool, watched movies, and shopped.

It's been a very relaxing, lazy time for us in Bahrain and its been great to have Jacob with us.

Al Ali Pottery

We went to Hamad Town to see the pottery shops. We saw tons and tons of pottery. It looks very different from what they make in Japan. Some I really liked some was just weird. Much of it they use as decorations in and on their homes. The smaller cut out ones they use to burn incense in. I managed to get out of there with only one piece but it was kind of big. You'll find a picture of it at the bottom of this post.

Kerrie and Brett in front of Al Ali Bottery.
We see many translation mistakes similar to the ones we saw in Japan.

Inside of Al Ali Bottery Shop

Outside the pottery shops and kilns there were huge piles of broken pottery. Apparently they make a lot of pottery that never sales.

Hanging Pottery Lamps

Basket full of colorful pottery goblets

Decorative Pottery

These little vases have a coin slot in them to be used as banks.

The wall where the potters work

Pottery Chandelier

Below is the pot I bought to adorn my front porch area.

Royal Camel Farm

In Bahrain the Uncle of the King owns a camel farm. He raises them for racing. We went to see the camels. There are over 175 camels ranging from new babies to old camels.

Jane, Brett & Kerrie at the camel farm in front of camel stalls

Kerrie riding the camel

Baby Camel Checking out Jane

Jane riding a camel

More Royal Camels

SMILE EVERYONE

Brett riding a camel

Ready, get set,.......go!

Hang on!

Just like riding a horse.....almost

Barbar Temple Site

We went to see the Barbar Temple site.

Barbar Temple site is an archeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, and considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The three temples were built atop one another with the second built approximately 500 years later and the third added between 2100BC and 2000BC. It’s thought that the temples were constructed to worship the god Enki, the god of wisdom and freshwater, and his wife Nankhur Sak. The temple contains two altars and a natural water spring that is thought to have held spiritual significance for the worshippers

Kerrie at the Barbar Archeological Temple site

Brett and Jane looking at Barbar Temple

I found it interesting that there was no protection of any kind at this site. People are allowed to wander all over it and do whatever they want. It is rumored that there are old human bones inside the minamal structures at this site but I couldn't find any.

Did a Little Touring

It is Holiday Time in Bahrain. The muslims are celebrating Eid. It is a celebration they have at the end of Ramadan. It is the most important holiday the muslims have. Therefore everyone has this week off and everything is closed and there is no school for a week so we went touring Below are a few pictures from our adventures yesterday.

We began our tour at the Bah-Bahrain or the Gate to Bahrain. This was buit a long time ago on the waters edge but so much land has since been reclaimed that the water is no where near it anymore.


This is Brett and I in front of the fountain at the Bah-Bahrain Gate



After visiting the Gate we loaded uppon a bus and went to Bahrain Fort.

They claim this fort was constructed in 2800 BC and is subsequently overlaid by various fortified settlements.







It was interesting to see such a structure that old in the midst of so much modern development.

Sweet Suite !!!

These are pictures of our Diplomat Hotel Suite. This is where we stayed while we looked for a home to live in in Bahrain. It was a pretty sweet suite. Definitely 5 stars and the nicest hotel I ever stayed in and I've stayed in a lot of hotels. We hated to leave it until we saw the homes we had to choose from and picked what we would be moving to.

Living Room in our hotel suite

Dining and Kitchen in background

The living & kitchen area room from a different angle

Hallway to Bedrooms

Guest bathroom


Janes Bathroom at the Hotel

Janes Bathroom at the Hotel

Janes Bedroom at the Hotel

Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom Diplomat Hotel

We had two bedrooms and 3 bathrooms a kitchen, dining area and a living room, and if you think thats great wait till you see what we're living in now.