Priceless Writer - Travel & Recreation

During a brief moment of procrastination, the Olympics flashed across the screen, allowing me to catch up on some of the track and field events of the day. It was then that Roqaya Al Ghasara caught my attention as she crossed the finish line before the rest of her competitors in Round 2 of the 200-meter sprinting event.

The devout Muslim was wearing a  tailor-made aerodynamic veil – "Bahrain" stretched across the front of her uniform. Where is Bahrain, I said to myself and during my search for information, I came across this unforgettable snapshot of beauty – courtesy of Vladimir Arshinov.

Bahrain is an island country located in the Persian Gulf. About 3 ½ times the size of Washington, DC; the country is home to about more than 700,000 inhabitants. With mildly pleasant winters and heat-filled, humid summers, many tourists come in hopes of benefiting from the plentiful natural resources of fish and pearls. Besides catching a glimpse of the Bahrain Grand Mosque, additional points of interest include:

• Qal'at al-Bahrain: Also referred to as the Portuguese Fort, this archaeological site is considered one of the top prizes associated with the country. Excavations for this attraction started during the 1950s, revealing a fort positioned on the remains of previous cities. Seven layers were discovered with the earliest dating back to 2800 BC.

• Royal Tombs: While visiting a cemetery doesn’t sound like much fun, many tourists take pleasure in experiencing the largest and most remarkable of the 85,000 burial mounds found in Bahrain. Situated in the village of A'ali, many believe the towering tombs served as the final resting place of royalty – with some reaching 50 feet into the sky. A stop in A'ali also brings you to a well-known pottery workshop, where tourists often find treasures of their own to take home.

• Barbar Temple: This archaeological site with a religious and spiritual past consists of temples dating back to the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC. Most likely dedicated to Enki, the God of Wisdom and the Sweet Waters Under the Sea, the excavated wonders are visible when traveling about a collection of walkways.

When departing from the U.S., you should know that flights tend to be on the expensive side and harder to locate. Consider traveling during what is known as the low seasons (early January to mid-June; and mid-October to mid-December). For the best connections to Bahrain, Europe is a winner with better airline deals found in Greece, Italy, or London.

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