28 January 2019
During a Tour in Muharraq City’s Cultural Sites, H.E Shaikha Mai Receives Housing Minister
H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities received, on 28January 2019, Architect, Mr. Bassim bin Yacoub Al-Hamer, Housing Minister. The meeting came during a tour visit to a number of cultural venues and sites in the city of Muharraq, celebrated as the Capital of Islamic Culture in 2018.
The tour kicked off at the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Expo Milano 2015 pavilion, “Archaeologies of Green”, which won the silver prize of the Expo Milano 2015 Pavilion Architecture Award, as the first pavilion whose construction has been completed amongst 50 other national pavilions from around the world. The pavilion was later moved and placed near House of Sheikh Isa courtyard. With 10 distinctive fruit gardens, the Bahraini pavilion features archaeological artifacts that celebrate the millennia-long tradition of agriculture. Indeed, during Spring of Culture Festival latest edition, Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of the King Bahrain and Supreme Council for Women President,had officially inaugurated the opening of the “Archaeologies of Green” pavilion, which highlighted Bahrain’s agricultural heritage at Milan Expo 2015 was placed in front of Shaikh Isa Bint Ali Al-Khalifa House. The tour visited, then, headed to Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa Center for Culture & Research, and many other related historical houses, which still stand as a living example of richness of the urban and universal heritage of the island. Afterwards, they went on to visit Bin Hindi neighborhood ( Fareej), where the Ministry of Housing, in cooperation with the culture Authority, had previously launched a housing project in order to preserve high value of the historical houses along the way.
H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa said that the preservation of Kingdom of Bahrain’s urban fabric heritage is a top priority for Culture Authority, adding that Bahraini cities are characterized by their intangible heritage richness as well. Architect, Mr. Bassim bin Yacoub Al-Hamer,Housing Minister, for his part, commended H.E’s strenuous efforts to preserve the historical Bahraini heritage, stressing the importance of cooperation between all parties and entities to achieve great cultural deeds and promote Bahrain as a regional and international culture hub.
