19 July 2014
Ministry of Culture Continues Restoration Works of the Transport Ministry’s Old Manama Post Office
Preserving heritage and raising the standards involved in that process have been key in all projects that have been undertaken by the Ministry of Culture to date. Ensuring that the public’s experience is enhanced and complimented by the finished project continues to be stressed by H.E. Shaihka Mai bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa. Keeping this goal in mind, the Manama Old Post Office (formerly the Customs Office) project, started last April, aims to preserve the historical building while keeping its traditional heritage and historical urban identity intact. The building is among the oldest in the capital of Manama and was built before Bab Al-Bahrain itself. The building, the oldest in the history of Bahrain's postal service, dates back to the 1940s.
The project, as conceived by the architects working at the Ministry of Culture, will help revive the heritage site which characterized in the era of late Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The Transportation Minister hailed the Culture Ministry's maintenance efforts in preserving landmark historic sites which stand witness to Bahrain's rich cultural heritage.
The historical post office in Manama is situated directly behind Bab Al Bahrain and will be the location of a mail museum that will detail the history of the postal service in Bahrain. The museum will include the archives of the postal service as well as an interactive audio-visual display that will allow visitors to print and mail their own postcards. The museum will also include a small gift shop as well as a café situated on a balcony overlooking Bab Al Bahrain.
The project’s designer is Ammar Basheir and is sure to become an important destination in the Old Manama Suq. It is hoped that the project will be completed and the Post Office be re-opened by the end of next year.
