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Tourism adds about $1 billion to Bahrain’s coffers each year.
 
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Arts & Crafts
Weaving magic at the Craft Centre
By Roy Kietzman   »   The Craft Centre, run entirely by Bahraini women, is becoming an increasingly popular stop for visitors to Bahrain, and it's no surprise why.
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Koheji brilliance brings past to life
By Roy Kietzman   »   When it's time to say farewell to Bahrain, visitors and long-time residents can pretty much count on - if they're lucky - getting a Koheji painting from well wishers as a remembrance of their favourite island. The swashes of pastel spotted hues often make up scenes of bygone Bahrain that have made their way into hundreds of homes and offices, both here and overseas.
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A picture of success
By Roy Kietzman   »   Riffa Elementary School art teacher Karim Al Bosta knew talent when he saw it. And he did see it in one of his pupils, Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. Al Bosta encouraged the youngster, attempting to bring out the creativeness he demonstrated in his class work. And so it was that Shaikh Rashid, at the age of 14, produced his first oil: a landscape.
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Drawn by a love for Bahrain
By Roy Kietzman   »   Being a legend in his own time hasn't slowed Abdulla Al Muharraqi form his harried working pace of sketching two cartoons daily for the press, preparing for local and overseas art exhibitions, continuing on his latest canvas of a scene from the Arabia of bygone days or welcoming guests into his own gallery. The name Muharraqi is arguably the most well known among the far over a hundred artists in Bahrain and has become virtually a household word.
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Painting the past
By Valerie Franchi   »  Even before she could read and write, Nawal Ahmed Kamal was painting. She had a love of art and creativity long before she knew what it meant to be an artist.
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Blind artist's unique vision
By Valerie Franchi   »   Bahraini artist Nasser Al Yousif has participated in countless exhibitions, has been honored by art societies and praised by critics both in Bahrain and abroad. His work has won numerous awards including the Al Dana Prize, the country's top arts honour. These are significant accomplishments in any artist’s career, but they are even more impressive when you consider that Al Yousif will never see the work that has received such acclaim: he is totally blind.
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The language of art
By Valerie Franchi   »   Bahraini artist Balquees Fakhroo’s home in Jurdab is decorated with abstract paintings from the Middle East and Africa – she particularly likes the works of artists from Iraq and Sudan. But the art that stands out the most in her American-style ranch house is her own.
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Traditional skills still alive in Bahrain
By Heather Anderson   »  There has always been a rich tradition of arts and crafts in Bahrain, going back many thousands of years to the Dilmun era.  Bahrain’s position at the crossroads of an important trade route in the Gulf linking Arabia with Asia and beyond made it a meeting place throughout history for many different cultural influences.  There has been a cross fertilisation and sharing of ideas, which have enriched the local culture and art.
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Feats of clay
By Archie D’Cruz   »   Deep in the heart of Bahrain, amidst 4,000-year-old burial mounds, seven family units in the village of A’ali practice a craft that is just as ancient.
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