Long before oil was discovered under the desert, pearls were Bahrain's most important treasure. The warm, shallow waters around the island were perfect for pearl oysters. Every summer, fleets of wooden dhow boats would sail out to the oyster beds, and divers would leap into the water again and again to collect oysters from the seabed.
Diving for pearls was hard work. The divers held their breath, sometimes going down 12 metres or more, and could do this many times a day. They wore nose clips made from bone or shell, and small leather bags around their necks to collect the oysters. The work was done in the hot summer months, and the whole community depended on a good season.
The Pearling Path connects old merchant houses, a fort, oyster beds and the sea to give visitors a complete picture of this world. The merchant houses — some of which have been beautifully restored — show where the wealthy pearl traders lived. Walking the path, you can follow the journey of a pearl from the seabed to the market.
By the 1930s, the pearl trade had almost disappeared because people in Japan found a way to grow pearls inside oysters in controlled conditions. But the memory of pearl diving is still very much alive in Bahrain, kept going through museums, festivals and traditional songs called fjeri.