Page 315 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (IV)_Neat

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bicycles. With him were his three young sons similarly attired and carrying swords. After walking
down the double line of cheering school-boys, dressed in white shirts and shorts, he cut with his dagger
the scarlet and white silk cord, these being the Bahrain colours, and passed through the wrought-iron
gates underneath the archway into the courtyard. Followed by his senior officials, members of his
family and his uncle Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa, Minister of Education, lie slowly proceeded .across the
wide quadrangle to the school hall while the Slate band, in smart khaki uniforms and red turbans,
played a slow march by Handel.
"On the platform in the big panelled hall, so very reminiscent of a college in England, were
seated Shaikhs of the ruling family resplendent in embroidered robes, senior members of the Educa­
tion Department, British Officials in the State service and their wives and two venerable Qadhis with
long beards and ample turbans. At the back of the platform, standing in line were the Shaikh’s
personal servants and coffee servers, tall black men, descendants of slaves, in crimson robes, every
man with a curved dagger in his belt and a sword in a silver scabbard slung over his shoulder. Sitting
on the platform next to the Shaikh was General Nuri Said, Prime Minister of Iraq, who came ashore
from his yacht which was anchored in the harbour. His presence in Bahrain coincided with the
opening of the hostel.
"The body of the hall was filled with some 500 spectators, among them many Europeans.
There were Arab merchants and pearl dealers soberly dressed in white robes, brown cloaks and white
head shawls with black ‘Agals’, representatives of the Indian communities, schoolmasters, many
of them wearing European suits and prefects and senior boys from the schools. The afternoon sun
streamed through the high arched windows and lit up the coloured robes and gold swords and daggers
of a group of Shaikhs who were sitting in the front row.
"The proceedings began with a sonorous reading of verses from the Quran, then a speech was
read by the Arab Director of Education followed by a reading of a translation of the speech in English
by the British Directress of Female Education, this being the first time in Bahrain that a woman had
spoken on a public occasion. After coffee and sweets had been handed round two small school-boys
presented the Shaikh with a picture of the new building, being rewarded by him with the gift of a sword
and a gold watch. The ceremony terminated with the singing of school songs by school-boys up in the
gallery of the hall. It was so like Speech Day in an English school that one almost expected the
distinguished guest to ask for an extra half holiday, but this, in Bahrain, would not be popular as both
children and parents seem to have little use for holidays. After leaving the hall the Shaikh and the
entire company made a tour of the hostel examining with interest the furniture, beds and linen,
kitchens and bathrooms.
" The hostel is a large white building on the outskirts of Manamah with ample space around it to
provide for playing fields. Its design follows closely the local style of architecture but modern
methods of construction have been employed and up to date fittings have been incorporated. It is
without doubt the finest building of its kind in the Persian Gulf. It is built around four sides of a
quadrangle which has a fountain in the centre. Facing the entrance there is a dining-hall and on the
west side of the quadrangle there is a Mosque. On the ground floor there are work rooms, play rooms,
a library and reading room, junior and senior common rooms, changing rooms equipped with hot and
cold showers and kitchens fitted with modem oil burning stoves. The first floor contains dormitories
with accommodation for over 100 boys and quarters for the hostel warden and resident masters. It
was built by the Public Works Department of the State and cost, with furniture and equipment, about
£70,000.
" The hostel will be occupied by boys from distant towns and villages who have progressed suffi­
ciently at their schools to be able to enter the more advanced Secondary and Technical Schools and
to take part in the special courses which arc held in Manamah. The hostel will be the educational
centre of the State.
"The first State school in the Persian Gulf was opened in Bahrain in 1919 in the town of Muhar-
raq, on an island adjacent to Manamah, which used to be the centre of the pearl industry and at one
time the capital of Bahrain. The two islands arc now connected by a causeway carrying a motor