Why this ride
The stops in between: Bū Māhir Seashore, Royal Mound 10, Pearling and Royal Mound 8. It crosses from Qatar into Bahrain - carry ID and check the toll rules.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site and Royal Mound 8
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 1062 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 18 h 17
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site
Out on the north-west coast of Qatar, where the desert slides into a shallow turquoise sea, stand the low ruins of Al Zubarah, once one of the busiest pearling and trading towns in the Gulf. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the town thrived on pearls dived from the oyster beds offshore, traded on to India, Persia and beyond. Then it declined, was abandoned in the early twentieth century, and the sand covered it. Archaeologists have since uncovered streets, houses, a souk, mosques and a long town wall running in an arc around the old harbour. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2013.
Read the complete Al Zubarah Archaeological Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site is where the day begins. Next is Bū Māhir Seashore.
2. Bū Māhir Seashore
Bahrain was once a pearl island, and its fortune depended on a harvest that took place under water. For centuries before oil, the men of Muharraq sailed out into the Gulf in the summer months to dive for oysters, going down on a single breath with a nose clip and a stone to carry them to the bottom, and bringing up baskets of shells in the hope of finding a pearl. The Bahraini pearls were famous, and their trade supported merchants, boat owners and whole districts. In the 1930s the Japanese invented cultured pearls, and the market collapsed, which is partly why Bahrain was so ready for oil.
Read the complete Bū Māhir Seashore write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bū Māhir Seashore comes up about 300 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Mound 10.
3. Royal Mound 10
The mounds at Hayr Shtayyah are part of something that is hard to grasp until you see it from above: the largest ancient burial landscape in the Gulf. Across the island of Bahrain, tens of thousands of low, rounded mounds, made of stone and sand, are scattered across the desert and in places, they stretch to the horizon. They were built mostly by the Dilmun civilisation, in the third and second millennia BC, when Bahrain was a rich trading hub between Mesopotamia and the Indus valley, and UNESCO has listed a selection of these burial grounds as World Heritage.
Read the complete Royal Mound 10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 379 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Mound 10. Next is Pearling.
4. Pearling
Pearling is the idea behind the whole route, not a single building, and the point on this map marks the heart of the old pearl trade in Muharraq. For centuries, divers set out from here each summer on wooden boats to work the oyster beds in the shallow Gulf, and the season, the long dive, lasted from about June to September. A diver went down with a clip on his nose, a stone to take him to the bottom, and a basket for the oysters, holding his breath for a minute or more and repeating the dive dozens of times a day. A rope hauled by a companion on deck brought him back up. The work was hard, the pay was poor, and many divers were in debt to the boat captain, the nokhada, for the whole of their working lives.
Read the complete Pearling write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pearling, about halfway. Next is Royal Mound 8.
5. Royal Mound 8
Mid-morning on the Bahraini plateau is quiet in a way that surprises people. The towns have emptied into offices, the wind has not yet picked up, and the only sound across the pale limestone is a distant radio from somebody's pickup. That is the best hour to come to the royal mounds at A'ali, because the gravel is still cool enough to walk on and the shapes have long shadows to define them.
Read the complete Royal Mound 8 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Royal Mound 8 sits at 531 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pearling.
6. back through Pearling
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pearling write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pearling comes up about 614 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Royal Mound 10.
7. back through Royal Mound 10
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Royal Mound 10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 692 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Royal Mound 10. Next is back through Bū Māhir Seashore.
8. back through Bū Māhir Seashore
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bū Māhir Seashore write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bū Māhir Seashore, late in the day. Next is Al Zubarah Archaeological Site.
9. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Al Zubarah Archaeological Site write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 1062 km.
Leg by leg
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site to Bū Māhir Seashore
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site → Bū Māhir Seashore is 300 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bū Māhir Seashore to Royal Mound 10
Bū Māhir Seashore → Royal Mound 10 is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Royal Mound 10 to Pearling
Royal Mound 10 → Pearling is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pearling to Royal Mound 8
Pearling → Royal Mound 8 is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Royal Mound 8 to back through Pearling
Royal Mound 8 → back through Pearling is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pearling to back through Royal Mound 10
back through Pearling → back through Royal Mound 10 is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Royal Mound 10 to back through Bū Māhir Seashore
back through Royal Mound 10 → back through Bū Māhir Seashore is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bū Māhir Seashore to Al Zubarah Archaeological Site
back through Bū Māhir Seashore → Al Zubarah Archaeological Site is 300 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.