Why this ride
932 km from Al Muharraq to Al Muharraq, about 17 h 02 of riding. It crosses from Bahrain into Qatar - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro and Al Zubarah Archaeological Site starting at Al Muharraq
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 932 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 17 h 02
- 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. ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro
Muharraq was the capital of Bahrain before Manama took over, and it is the part of the country where the old pearl trade still shows in the buildings. For centuries, before cultured pearls and oil, Bahrain lived on pearls. Hundreds of boats left each summer for the oyster beds, men dived without equipment, holding their breath and wearing a nose clip, and merchants in Muharraq bought the catch and sold it on to dealers in Bombay and Paris. The wealth shaped the town, and UNESCO listed the Pearling Path, a group of merchants' houses, shops and fortifications, in 2012.
Read the complete ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro is where the day begins. Next is Hayr Shtayyah.
2. 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
about 466 km into the recorded legs you reach Al Zubarah Archaeological Site. Next is back through Hayr Shtayyah.
3. ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro to Al Zubarah Archaeological Site
‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro → Al Zubarah Archaeological Site is 466 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site to ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro
Al Zubarah Archaeological Site → ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro is 466 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.