Manama, Bahrain

Bahrain is so small that there doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the island one can’t reach within fifteen minutes by car. One local wag told me that it takes no more than two hours on foot to cover the entire perimeter of the country—if you exclude the Manama-based U.S. Fifth Fleet, an island by itself. Bahrain means “two seas” but actually refers to the ancient freshwater springs in the briny waters of the Persian Gulf. The springs disappeared sometime around the turn of the twentieth century, maybe due to oil exploration, but there are plenty of theories and opinions among the 1.2 million who inhabit this tiny island.