The Fakhro house belongs to a group of houses of the pearl merchants of Muharraq, and it is a good excuse to talk about the town in which they stand. Muharraq was Bahrain's capital until the early twentieth century, and its old quarter keeps the layout that the town had when the pearl trade ruled everything. Lanes, called sikkas, wind between high walls of coral stone and plaster, deliberately narrow and twisting so that the shade of one house falls across the next and the sea breeze is funnelled through. In a hot, damp climate, urban design meant survival.
Walking, or riding slowly, through these lanes gives you a feel for how intimate the quarter is. Doors are tall and heavy, studded with metal and carved in patterns, with a small door set into a larger one for everyday use. Decorative plasterwork and carved wood cover the upper parts of the walls, and windows are fitted with wooden shutters or latticework that lets air in while keeping eyes out. On corners stand small neighbourhood mosques, and small shops sell sweets, spices and household goods. In some lanes you will find a group of old men sitting outside a café, watching you with polite interest.
Restoration has been uneven. Some houses have been carefully repaired and opened to visitors, with painted ceilings and carefully restored rooms, while others stand empty with sagging balconies, and the contrast is part of the place's charm. UNESCO inscription in 2012 helped, and the programme is still unfinished. For the traveller, the thing to do is simply to follow the lanes, look at the doorways, and stop in the cafés. Halwa, a sticky sweet made of starch, sugar, nuts and spices, is the local speciality, and it comes in many flavours.
Riding here is gentle. Streets are narrow and shared with pedestrians, and a slow pace is not only polite but necessary. Park near the main road and walk if the lanes become too tight. Fuel stations are easy to find on the main roads around the island, and there is nothing in the old quarter itself. Pleasant weather lasts from November to March, and the middle of the day in summer is best spent indoors. In the evening, the quarter wakes up again, with lights in the windows and the smell of grilled fish drifting from the side streets.