Muharraq's most famous export after pearls is probably football, and the Al-Alawi house stands in a quarter where every wall seems to have a team scarf hanging from it. The Muharraq club is one of the most successful in the country, with a loyal following, and on match days the cafés and lanes of the old town are noisy with argument and song. The people who live in the old merchant houses today are often the grandchildren of men who dived for pearls or traded them, and the town keeps a stubborn local identity separate from Manama, the capital across the water.
The house itself is another example of the architecture of the pearl-trade era, made of coral stone and plaster, with wooden balconies, carved doors and an inner courtyard. What is striking about the houses on this route is how modest the street front often is. Wealth was kept inside, and the plain facade gave nothing away. Inside, painted ceilings, carved wooden niches and tall windows made rooms that were cool even in midsummer, and an air of calm hung over the whole.
The island is also home to Bahrain's international airport, and aircraft pass low over the old town at times. The mix is odd and typical of the country: ancient mud and stone alongside modern engineering, a skyline of cranes and towers on the horizon, and fishing boats pulled up in a creek between the two. Riders will find the roads around Muharraq wide and well surfaced, with plenty of roundabouts and traffic lights, but the drivers can be fast and sudden. Take care at junctions, because lane changes happen without signals.
Cafés in the old quarter are the place to rest. Order Arabic coffee, poured in small cups from a long-spouted pot, and a plate of dates, and sit outside if the weather allows. Local fish and rice dishes, such as machboos with spiced fish or prawns, are the dishes to try, and the shops sell honeyed sweets for the road. Fuel is cheap, with stations on the main roads and the ring around the island. The cooler months, from November to March, are the time to come. Ramadan changes the rhythm of the town, with quiet days and lively nights, and shops closing and reopening on a different timetable.