Why this ride
From Al Muharraq it runs 108 km to Al Muharraq; allow about 1 h 39 of riding. On the way it passes Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field, Core zone 2, back through Core zone 2 and back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bū Māhir Seashore and Hayr Shtayyah
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 108 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 39
- 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: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field.
2. Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field
Bahrain was once covered with burial mounds. Over thousands of years, between roughly 2200 BC and the early centuries AD, the people of Dilmun, an ancient civilisation that controlled trade in the Gulf between Mesopotamia and the Indus valley, built tens of thousands of tombs across the northern part of the island. Many have been lost to modern development, but some fields survive, and in 2019 a selection of them, including the Madinat Hamad mound fields, was inscribed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Dilmun Burial Mounds.
Read the complete Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Core zone 2.
3. Core zone 2
Bahrain's pearl-diving history is the reason this scrap of coast matters. For centuries, before oil, the island's wealth came from the oyster beds in the shallow waters, and divers went out for months each summer, working with a nose clip, a stone weight and a basket. Pearls from these waters were prized from India to Europe. Then in the 1930s cultured pearls from Japan collapsed the market, and oil, struck in 1932, took over. The Pearling Path, a UNESCO listing since 2012, preserves buildings and sea sites connected with that older economy, including Fakhro House and the offshore oyster beds called Hayr Shtayyah.
Read the complete Core zone 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Core zone 2. Next is Hayr Shtayyah.
4. back through Core zone 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Core zone 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Core zone 2 sits at 163 km, about halfway. Next is back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field.
5. back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field comes up about 79 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bū Māhir Seashore.
6. 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
Bū Māhir Seashore closes the day.
Leg by leg
Bū Māhir Seashore to Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field
Bū Māhir Seashore → Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field to Core zone 2
Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field → Core zone 2 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Core zone 2 to back through Core zone 2
Core zone 2 → back through Core zone 2 is 1 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Core zone 2 to back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field
back through Core zone 2 → back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field to Bū Māhir Seashore
back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field → Bū Māhir Seashore is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Core zone 2 and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km
- Pearling and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km
- Al-Ghūṣ House and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km