Tree of Life

After a long days work. A group of us were travelling back to Manama when we decided to make a detour and see the Tree of Life. To warn you in advance its a little difficult to find the Tree, it helps to have local knowledge of the location, as we had. To make it easier for everyone else here are some directions. First from the main Highway take the turnoff at Bridge no.3. Turn inland and follow the road. As you come over the ridge you will see the Tree. Follow the road and you will notice the turn off to the Tree. The last stretch is nothing but desert dirt road, so caution is advised while driving.

Now we took the turnoff from the bridge, and followed the road which had many turns and bends. I couldn't help notice how narrow the road was, could two cars pass each other? Well if it was a truck I would have had some serious problems.

But I had my Trusty pick-up so could handle anything off road, and luck was on my side as traffic was non exsistant. From far the Tree is striking. It seems to defy logic, here in the middle of the desert where there is nothing for as far as the eye can see, here stands this huge tree in the middle of no where. We managed to time it right as well, the sun was setting as we arrived at the Tree so got some nice photos of the sunset. On arriving we were greeted by two Bahrainis who were riding their horses. In typical Bahraini fashion they were quick to come up and greet us very friendly and warmly. After they left we then had time to admire the Tree. Its size is impressive. On closer examination of the trunk I was overcome by sadness, noticing the many graffiti and carvings left by people with no respect for national monuments.

A little history lesson. The Tree is around 400 to 500 years old. It is tapped into a misterious water source that scientists can't trace. Local folklore says that Bahrain was once a tropical island, and when the island became a desert this was the only tree to survive. Also hearing the story on how Bahrain was once the original Garden of Eden, well after seeing the Tree I can see that it could be possible.

After leaving we carried on with our journey, following the old road which eventually folked back to the main highway. The rest of the photos show what we saw as we travelled along the old road. There are many refineries scattered across the landscape.