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Raffles 1887
RAFFLES READS
Bahrain: pearl of the Arabian Gulf
It might be known today for its world-class horse racing and high-octane F1, but there’s nothing more emblematic of this tiny island nation than its beautiful pearls. These lustrous gems have connected Bahrain to the world for centuries and, as MARK ELLWOOD discovers, every single one must still be harvested by hand.
ABDULNABUI Habib Bushaikha – he prefers the simpler Nabi the fisherman – reaches into a pail with one hand while he holds a knife in the other, blade glinting in the bright sunlight of early morning. He grabs one shell, deftly opening it with a single slice, and begins nudging around inside, noting that the encrusted exterior shows it’s an older specimen, five years or more. “One man from America, he found a very good one, it was worth $1,000,” he says, hopefully.
Nabi’s talking about one of nature’s most elusive and beautiful accidental creations, a pearl; perhaps he’ll find one this time. He grins as he points to a few shards of nacre, tiny flecks, glistening against the flesh – four of them, like jewelled breadcrumbs. “Here, take it,” he says, as he hands over the shell as a souvenir.
"The seas are particularly well suited for pearl oysters to thrive. They’re also what helped put Bahrain at the heart of ancient trade routes, connecting it to the world over centuries"
Nabi’s family has long worked in pearl fishing, plunging into the waters of the Persian Gulf to harvest oysters, painstakingly poring through each haul to hunt like this. He’s Bahraini, and the seas off his tiny island nation are particularly well suited for those oysters to thrive. They’re also what helped put Bahrain at the heart of ancient trade routes, connecting it to the world over centuries. “Don’t forget that Bahrain is in the middle of the Gulf – they call it the heart of the Gulf,” he says, “If you want to gain a lady, you have to gain her heart. And whoever wants to gain all of the Gulf – first they have to come to Bahrain.”
This 274-square mile archipelago sits just 15 miles off the coast of Saudi Arabia, yet the cultures and countries couldn’t contrast more: the latter, so insular for so long, is slowly opening to the world, while Bahrain has always looked outward. “Some visitors expect it to be like Saudi, but it’s not,” says Silvia Buemi, a Swiss woman who first moved here with her financier husband in 1992 and now works as a private guide. ”Bahrainis have always been very open, very educated and travelled or studied abroad. They’re always so welcoming.”
"Bahrain’s King Hamad gifted the late Queen Elizabeth II two of the Arabian purebreds for which his country is renowned – they’re prized for a particular combination of stamina and gentleness"
English is an unofficial second language, too, a legacy of Bahrain’s history as a British Protectorate. Those connections with the UK remain strong, not least via a shared passion for horse racing: Bahrain’s King Hamad gifted the late Queen Elizabeth II two of the Arabian purebreds for which his country is renowned (they’re prized for a particular combination of stamina and gentleness). The Bahrain Turf Club has just opened a gleaming new home, its tracks refurbished alongside the new complex for spectators – the Outer Track has a six-furlong chute, with good to firm terrain intended not to favour any particular style of running. There’s a huge tiered stand for VIPs, where the British ambassador is hosting guests in one box for the first race of the season, of course. There’s also a large enclosure for ordinary Bahrainis, designed by a young local architect, with snack stands – try a halloumi and za’atar croissant – and ample perches from which to watch the horses.
It was the royal family who brought an entirely different kind of horsepower to the island nation, too: F1 racing. Almost three decades ago, the Crown Prince found himself sitting next to Jackie Stewart on a Concorde flight; their conversation led to an introduction to F1’s driving force, Bernie Ecclestone. They rapidly struck a deal to build a world-class race track here, on a quieter south-western corner of the main island. The first race was in 2004, and now there are more than 350 events each year, the stands regularly filled with local families and visitors.
On a hot winter day – even in November, the temperatures rarely drop below 70F – there’s a qualifying race for the World Endurance Series, with cars from Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and more preparing for that eight-hour marathon (McLaren, of course, is Bahraini-owned). As you watch them from the top deck of the observation tower, it’s only the noise that acts as a reminder that they are not toy cars, tiny, brightly coloured vehicles pinballing around the hairpin turns.
Still, nothing is more emblematic of Bahrain than those pearls. The country prizes, and guards, its reputation for producing the world’s finest with zeal; indeed, when Kokichi Mikimoto invented the process for culturing pearls, Bahrain responded promptly, banning their farming or import in 1928 (today, the government runs its own laboratory, where pearls for sale are tested using multiple machines to verify their natural origins). It has helped Bahrain retain its reputation for show-stopping pearls via a raft of local jewellers, including Mattar. Sitting in its offices downtown on a busy Sunday morning, I witness a regular stream of fishermen arriving to try to sell their latest haul to the family-run firm – only Bahraini nationals are entitled to buy a licence to dive. Fourth generation Faten Mattar now helms the company, and her brother and one sister also work there. She’s a low-key, thoughtful figure, keen to emphasise that selling pearls is more than a commercial mission for them.
She carefully takes a pouch, in the firm’s signature electric blue, and opens it, allowing the contents to spill out slightly on the table: it’s full of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of perfectly round pearls. “There’s no mass production – you have to hand pick every single one,” she says, explaining how necklaces are built up, perhaps over a decade or more as matching sizes and lustres are graded then paired. “There’s no quick return on pearl jewellery, You have to have passion and patience.” And, of course, a little luck with the help of an expert like Nabi.
British-born, New York-based journalist and TV host Mark Ellwood is the author of Raffles: From Your Butler, published in 2025 by Assouline. As a specialist in travel, luxury goods, fashion and contemporary art, he is a contributing editor to Conde Nast Traveler, editor-at-large for the Robb Report, columnist for Bloomberg Luxury, creator and co-host of Bloomberg’s Travel Genius podcast, and a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
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