Page 219 - Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf_Neat

City and countryside in modern Bahrain 199

public buildings entered popular usage only in the late 1950s. As tradi-

tional landmarks continued to foster the sense of place and hierarchy of

urban residents, the municipality and the government continued to use

mosques, ma’tams and upper class mansions in their proclamations to

indicate particular districts. 15 Although land registration played a crucial
role in fixing the boundaries of both properties and neighbourhoods, it
also subverted traditional perceptions of space. The production of
detailed title deeds, with measurements and maps, established a new
visual language of property ownership which replaced the formulas of
the property certificates issued by Shaykh ‘Isa (hibahs) and by the qadis
(sanad milkiyyah) in the early twentieth century. Although the plans drawn
by Tabu officials were often not consistent with the old documentation,
land and property disputes were less confrontational than in the villages.
In fact, merchants and members of the Al Khalifah family, who were the
largest claimants of real estate, were often in a position to produce proof of
ownership. 16
Domestic space continued to be dominated by traditional notions of
intimacy. While most of the modern houses were rented to foreigners, old
properties built around courtyards were enlarged and repaired, and new
rooms added to accommodate family members. The Hay’ah al-Kashf
(Inspection Committee) of the municipality became the ‘privacy’ commit-
tee par excellence as it was in charge of vetting the extension and repair of
buildings. The disputes arbitrated by the municipality reveal the durability
of the ‘introverted’ character of Manama’s urbanism which protected tradi-
tional notions of morality and family life. 17 In areas of public utility,
residents also challenged the authority of the baladiyyah.They often
claimed portions of roads by opening new entrances to their houses and
shops, by building balconies and putting up sun shades and benches. When
the municipality started to cover the main thoroughfares of the markets,
18
wealthy merchants started to build their own roofs across shops.
15
Bu Hajji, Lamahat min tarikh al-murur, pp. 59–65; MMBM, 3 Jumada al-Ula 1354/3
August 1935 and 3 Dhu al-Qa‘dah 1369/17 August 1950, R/15/2/1922 and 1932 IOR;
‘I‘lanat Idarah al-Tabu’ in Jaridah al-Bahrayn, Dhu al-Qa‘dah 1359–Dhu al-Hijjah
1360 (December 1940–January 1942), MWT; ‘Tasjil mabi‘at wa ghayr fi al-Tabu’ in al-
Jaridah al-Rasmiyyah, n.1 to n. 39, 15 Rajab 1357–15 Rajab 1370 (23 May 1948–21 April
1951), DSQ.
16
Manaf Yusif Hamza, Manar al-Bahrayn fi tarikh al-tabu wa al-misahah, (Manama: under
the auspices of the Council of Ministers, 2000), p. 142; interview with Muhammad Ishaq
‘Abd al-Rahman al-Khan, Manama, 8 April 2004.
17
The word al-kashf was also used for privacy in popular parlance.
18
In 1940 a famous dispute involved ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Qusaybi who had roofed two of his
properties on either side of a municipal road. When he informed the municipality, the
secretary ordered the structure to be demolished. Although it was eventually taken down,
al-Qusaybi got monetary compensation by claiming that he had simply repaired a roof