page_title: Manama
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Manama / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Skyline of Manama, Bahrain.
context_page_description: Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 157,000 people. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population. After periods of Portuguese and Persian control and invasions from the ruling dynasties of Saudi Arabia and Oman, Bahrain established itself as an independent nation during the 19th century period of British hegemony.
  Although the current twin cities of Manama and Muharraq appear to have been founded simultaneously in the 1800s, Muharraq took prominence due to its defensive location and was thus the capital of Bahrain until 1923. Manama became the mercantile capital and was the gateway to the main Bahrain Island. In the 20th century, Bahrain's oil wealth helped spur fast growth and in the 1990s a concerted diversification effort led to expansion in other industries and helped transform Manama into an important financial hub in the Middle East. Manama was designated as the 2012 capital of Arab culture by the Arab League, and a beta global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network in 2018.
context_section_description: The city is located in the north-eastern corner of Bahrain on a small peninsula. As in the rest of Bahrain, the land is generally flat (or gently rolling) and arid.
caption: A panoramic view of the skyline of Manama from left to right:1. The twin towers of the Bahrain WTC.
  2. The twin towers of the Bahrain Financial Harbor (BFH).
  3. The NBB tower (short building next to BFH).
  4. The Almoayyed Tower (tallest in the photo, center of image).
  5. The Abraj Al Lulu residential project (three towers) under-construction on the far-right).
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