Saving Manama’s heritage

The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) held the inaugural meeting of the Manama Calls initiative aimed at preserving the human and architectural heritage of the Capital under the banner ‘Manama Calls’ yesterday. The meeting, which took place at the Bahrain National Museum Lecture Hall, was attended by Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, the President of BACA, Sheikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, the Governor of the Capital Governorate, as well a number of officials, media, and residents of Manama.

Shaikha Mai stressed the importance of looking after the architectural, social and cultural heritage of Manama, noting that getting the city inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site can raise its profile and increase the number of tourists. Miray Wosinski Architect and Cultural Heritage Specialist, who gave a joint presentation along with Fatema Abdali at the conference, discussed BACA’s efforts to restore some of the landmarks in Manama.

Wosinski told Tribune, “We are trying to develop a strategic approach to reconnect the urban dynamics and activate the city again.” The approach, Wosinski said, starts with the urban studies and move to the recommendation phase. “We are looking to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the city.” The step, she said, will be followed by a historic research phase, “where we are developing a creative Manama concept to reconnect all the cultural, social and economic inputs.”

“BACA is further continuing its work on surveying and identifying the high potential buildings and we invite everyone who is interested to participate in the protection of Manama’s heritage.” The meeting also highlighted some of the key services BACA provides concerning historical and ancient homes, helping people to preserve their architectural heritage, as well as receiving emergency requests and daily personal communication from the residents.