Why this ride
108 km from Al Muharraq to Al Muharraq, about 1 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of 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
Pearling 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. 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 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 Pearling.
6. 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
Pearling closes the day.
Leg by leg
Pearling to Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field
Pearling → 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 Pearling
back through Madinat Hamad 3 Burial Mound Field → Pearling is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Bū Māhir Seashore and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km
- Core zone 2 and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km
- Al-Ghūṣ House and Hayr Shtayyah · 108 km