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The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of some thirty-three islands, totalling 268 square miles, located in the middle of the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf, almost halfway between Shatt Al-Arab in the north and Muscat to the south. The islands lie approximately twenty miles from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and two to eighteen miles from Qatar. Bahrain?s neighbors are Saudi Arabia on the west and Quatar on the east. Bahrain has been joined by a causeway to Saudi Arabia since late 1986. This causeway has had a profound effect, and greatly influenced certain aspects of Bahrain society. Bahrain Island, the largest in the group, is the location of the current capital city Manama. It is approximately thirty miles long and ten miles wide and is linked by causeways to the islands of Muharraq on the northeast and Sitra on the east coast. Outside the capital, the landscape is covered by fertile gardens and palm trees in the northern third, and there is the desert with the oil and gas reserves in the remainder. Most of the population lives in the northern portion, while the central desert area contains the remains of the hundred thousand or more tumuli (ancient burial mounds), and a few towns and villages. The southern third of Bahrain Island is mainly a noninhabited restricted area. Most of the islands are now joined by causeways to the main island, except the Hawar Island group which lies offshore.

Bahrain has long been a port of call - for more than 6,000 years - and cuneiform tablets describe in ancient times the fresh water springs, the dates, and the market place in Bahrain which attracted Gulf trading ships to the offshore harbor. These ancient travelers were shuttling between Mesopotamia, Bahrain, and the Indus Valley. Archeological finds have identified Bahrain as ?Dilmun, the land of the living? mentioned in the Sumerian epic, Gilgamesh. Other archeologists have suggested that Bahrain was the Garden of Eden. Traditionally, people were farmers, fishermen, and merchants. There were no Bedouins or semi-Bedouins living in Bahrain (Taki, 1974). Since the late nineteenth century, the form of government has been a traditional monarchy with succession passed from father to son (unlike other Gulf and Middle East countries where succession is brother to brother). Between 1861 and 1971, Bahrain was a British protectorate. There were three social classes in Bahrain until 1932 - royalty, merchants, and farmers (Khuri, 1980). The discovery of oil in 1932 led to many changes in traditional customs and initiated the beginning of a middle class in the society.

Bahrain saw a resurgence in its trading and commercial sector, and particularly growth in banking, during the 1970s because of the Lebanese civil war. Many institutions, with their expatriate work force, moved to Bahrain, attracted by its tolerable social environment. There are now expatriates from over sixty countries living in Bahrain and working in various government agencies, private businesses, service institutions, and family homes. There are also tourists from the Gulf and around the world visiting Bahrain. These current commercial activities, and the past contact with traders and people from different cultures, for centuries has given Bahrain a unique cultural pattern and a cosmopolitan air. The latter has not been seen in other Gulf cities, like Dubai, until recently. The people of Bahrain and their respect for, and tolerance of, different cultural values makes Bahrain unique in many ways from its neighbors.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has a land area of 268 square miles (695.26 square kilometers) and a recent census showed a population of around 700,000 including 64 percent Bahrainis and 36 percent expatriates.