Trip to Bahrain (almost)

My Aramco friend is getting ready to leave for his summer vacation, as are Atef and his family.  So, to say goodbye, and for lack of anything better to do, we decided to take a trip to Bahrain.  Or, as close to Bahrain as we could get anyway.  Atef's family and I do not have exit visas that allow us to leave the country, so we couldn't actually go to Bahrain.  We could however, get on the King Faud Causeway (the 20th largest bridge in the world) and drive to Middle Island, a man made embankment in the middle of the bridge connecting Saudi to the island nation of Bahrain and houses the border control.

Driving on the Causeway

We went just as the sun was setting, which is a lovely time to go.  Getting there (getting anywhere) was a challenge because there was an accident blocking the road we needed.  After about three rounds of "Elephant went on a trip" the cars behind us had all reversed one by one and taken a side road, so we followed suit and eventually made it out of traffic and were on our way once again.  Not far from the bridge we passed the largest abandoned building I have ever seen.  It was supposed to be the largest mall in the Gulf region, but like so many other projects around here, was abandoned.  Now it is just the skeleton of what might have been.

Lookout tower with Bahrain Flag

When we finally made it to the causeway and drove out on to the bridge, I got my first real look at the gulf during the day.  to my right was a wide beach with many cars driving on the packed sand and lots of garbage.  Out the left hand side I could vaguely see the buildings of the Khobar Cornish.  Unfortunately it was very hazy, so you couldn't see too far.  As we approached the middle Island we could see the tower which has a small cafe on top, the golden arches of a Mickey D's, and a strange sculpture / billboard advertisement thing of a bowl pouring something out.  I'm still not sure what it was for.

I only saw 4 cars use this lane

We drove over to the tower, but were disappointed to find not only closed because it was before 8pm during Ramadan, but really closed, for renovation it seemed.  So instead of getting a birds eye view of the island, we parked and walked along the boardwalk next to the VIP lane.  If you are wealthy enough to get the VIP pass, you can breeze through the lines at border control, which are regularly upwards of 3 hours long.  I figure walking beside it is the closest I will ever get to being in the VIP lane.

Atef and his family (and me)

At first it was very hot walking along, and as the only thing to see were the piles of gravel along the edge of the island flanked by three rows of barbed wire, I was content to head back to the air conditioned car and call it a day.  But the sun was sinking fast, and soon a nice breeze cooled everything down.  Now it was easier to enjoy walking along the palm lined sidewalk and watch a few fishing boats in the distance.  We passed the time taking "selfies" and other pictures of each other.

Looking back toward Saudi
Notice the barbed wire....

When the lights came on, so did the sprinklers, and the kids and I ran through them.  It felt great on my hands and face, but abayas are made of this weird material that repels moisture (and airflow), so I didn't really get wet.  When the sun had gone down for good, and we heard the call to prayer ending the fast, we walked back to the car slowly.  I know I was reluctant to leave.  Even though we were technically still in Saudi, and despite the barbed wire, I somehow felt a little freer just by being this close to the border.   Maybe someday I'll even make it to the other side.