Top 10 Cities in the Middle East – 4. Manama

Manama is the capital city of Bahrain and the largest city in this state, with an estimated population of 155000 residents. Conquested by the Portuguese in 1521 and, then, by the Persians in 1602, Manama gained its independence in 1958 and became the capital of Bahrain in 1971. The name of the city can be translated as “the place of rest” or “the place of dreams”.

It is regarded as one of the most important trading centers in the Persian Gulf. The economy is based on petroleum, heavy industry, banking and tourism. Manama, as a regional port city in the Gulf, has been a cosmopolitan city for a long time, attracting the migrants with great working perspectives. Manama was designated as the capital of Arab culture for the year 2012 by the Arab League.

Bahrain Financial Harbour is a large-scale commercial development project in Manama, including several buildings. The two tallest twin-towers (Commercial East and Commercial West) are currently listed as the tallest completed towers in Bahrain, with a height of 260 m (853 ft) with 53 floors.

The Bahrain World Trade Center is a 240-metre-high, 50-floor, twin tower complex, built in 2008 by the multi-national architectural firm Atkins. It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. It is currently ranked as the second-tallest construction in Bahrain.

Almoayyed Tower is a commercial skyscraper located in the Seef neighborhood of Manama. The tower is regular four-sided structure, with a height of 172 metres. Almoayyed consists mostly of office and business complexes. It is the fourth-tallest tower in Bahrain. Almoayyed Tower is also known as Dark Tower because of its dark coloring.

The Abraj Al Lulu is a large residential project located in Manama. The entire project consists of three large towers, two of which have 50 floors and one with 40.

The Al-Fateh Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world, encompassing 6,500 square meters and having the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time. The mosque was built in 1987, named after Ahmed Al Fateh, the conqueror of Bahrain. The huge dome built on top of the Al-Fatih Mosque is constructed entirely of fiberglass. Weighing over 60 t (60,000 kg), it is currently the world’s largest fiberglass dome.