85 Reasons to be Proud of Bahrain

In response to Mohammed’s insulting attempt to list 85 reasons to nag about Bahrain, kindly allow me to share 85 reasons to love this country:

1. We’re ancestors of the ancient Dilmun civilization
2. We live on ISLANDS!
3. You see the sea every day
4. Sun and warmth. Healthy for the skin!
5. Sun, keeps you hyper
6. Most Bahrainis are polite
7. Most Bahrainis are kind
8. Bahrainis are relatively tolerant when compared to neighboring societies
9. Khalid Al Shaikh’s Safer, Na3am Na3am & 3ainaki
10. Paintings on the wall around Ein Athari
11. Cruises in Sakheer
12. Beit Seyadi in Muharraq
13. Trips to the National Museum
14. Reading peacefully at Costa Coffee
15. Bumping into old friends so often
16. Availability of alcohol
17. Non-smoking zones
18. 50-Minute flights to and from Dubai, 5 times a day, on Gulf Air
19. Multiculturalism
20. Social Diversity
21. Diversity in beliefs
22. Awareness and interest in global issues
23. Clean roads
24. Free education up to 12th grade
25. Enjoying a history in political activeness
26. Samboosa 7ilwa
27. Rangeena
28. The Sandoog LiMbayyat
29. Civilized driving manners
30. Families living maximum 20-mins drive away
31. Crazy random signs at Soog il Manama
32. Cinema tickets, rarely sold out even on weekends
33. The beachy feeling that enables you to wear jeans and slippers even at a posh restaurant at a 5 star hotel.
34. Fresh, quiet and peaceful breakfasts on weekends
35. Beaches! Waves! Sunbathing!
36. Seef Mall
37. MTC-VF
38. Jawad Supermarket
39. Nasser Pharmacy
40. Sitra Mall
41. Having coffee/dinner at the Bahrain International Airport even if you’re not flying
42. Bahrain Fort
43. Tree of Life
44. Barbar Temples
45. Aali’s 6000 year old Burial Mounds
46. Al Areen Wildlife Park
47. The Bahrain International Circuit
48. Arad Fort, and how Fairuz sang there and Majda Al Roumy filmed her clip “Ana 3am Ba7lam” there!
49. Awali, and how cute it is
50. Manama, how deep it is
51. Fine Dining, excellent food and exquisite service at restaurants
52. Cafes in Adleya, which aren’t just cafes..
53. Green Budaya
54. Seef mall packed with children on Saturdays
55. Spring of Culture
56. Dates, especially 5la9
57. The fact that most people who visit Bahrain fall madly in love with it
58. Crows, everywhere
59. Dilmun Cats
60. Dilmun Seals
61. Funny names of the gazillion villages around Budaya Highway (Jannoosan, il Megsha3, Bu 9aibe3, etc..)
62. Passionate love for Palestine
63. You pay 1% for insurance against unemployment a form social cooperation
64. Most Bahrainis know at least a few words in English, Urdu and Farisi. Funky.
65. Your hands don’t get chopped off when you steal
66. Our parliament serves to entertain us
67. The GDN offers daily doses of comic relief
68. Bahrain TV is unwatchable, this giving us a chance to be exposed to OTHER channels and other cultures
69. CLUBS. CLUBS. CLUBS.
70. The Country Club’s 5 Bars
71. Birds singing out of my window at 4:39 am
72. Cheap mobile tariffs
73. Sale, all year long
74. Fizzy drinks STILL cost 100 fils
75. The bizarre Bahraini proverbs, like, “il nas fi zilzala wil 3aroos dobbi rajil”
76. Free Wifi in Costa Café
77. Walkways all around the country. Now no one has an excuse
78. The growing number of children parks in residential areas
79. Ramiz, Soog il Maga9ee9, Soog il Irani, Last Chance, and other bargain shops
80. Work can’t be more than a 20 mins drive away from home. Traffic jams my ass.
81. Hospitals and clinics are EVERYWHERE
82. Il Ward il M7amedi, Razji, Jasmine, Knar, Trinj and Bambar
83. Burger Land’s best shawarma on Earth
84. Laid back and peaceful weekends
85. The fact that I can list 85 reasons why I love Bahrain in 20 minutes only