LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Bahrain: Saudi Arabia
built 657 days ago
Bahrain consists of a small group of islands making up a very modest area of 665 square kilometers. It has a rich history spanning back some 5000 years to the Kings of Delmon, which is documented by the numerous ancient burial mounds still found across the island. Was the referral to Paradise in the Old Testament in fact a referral to Bahrain? We will never know but the Kingdom of Delmon was mentioned and the fact that Bahrain was an amazing oasis with more than 1.5 million palm trees in the middle of an extraordinary dry environment must have made it a very imposing sight. The word "Bahrain" is in fact Arabic for "Two Seas" referring to the abundant availability of fresh water within the oasis and the presence of the very salty Arabian Gulf around the island. Bahrain's modern history was launched with the arrival of the Al-Khalifa family in 1783 - following a Portuguese presence.
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During the 3d millennium B.C., Bahrain (known in Sumerian as Dilmun) was already an important trade center, functioning as a transshipment point between Arabia and India. In the ancient world it was ... famous for the pearling conducted in the waters surrounding the islands. The Greeks knew the island as Tylos. The term Bahrain was used to describe the entire Persian Gulf coast of Arabia in the early Islamic era; the island was also known as Awal or Aval. Bahrain was ruled in the 16th cent. by Portugal and intermittently from 1602 to 1783 by Persia. The Persians were expelled by an Arabian family that established the present ruling dynasty, the al-Khalifas.
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In well-to-do Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil granted as aid. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.
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Since achieving independence in 1971, Bahrain has pursued a policy of close consultation with neighboring states. Bahrain became a member of the United Nations and the Arab League in 1971. In 1981 it joined its five neighbors--Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the U.A.E. and Qatar--to form the strategic Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Bahrain has complied with GCC efforts steps to coordinate economic development and defense and security planning. In December 1994, for example, Bahrain concurred with the GCC decision to drop secondary and tertiary boycotts against Israel.
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Despite harsh desert conditions, Bahrain supports varied plant and animal life. Many plants are halophytes (plants that are salt tolerant) and xerophytes (plants that are drought resistant), including flowering desert shrubs. There are many palm trees, although increased groundwater salinity has reduced their numbers. (As more and more freshwater is withdrawn from underground aquifers, saltwater from the Persian Gulf seeps into the aquifers, making the groundwater more salty.) An abundance of marine life, including grouper, mackerel, shrimp, pearl oysters, and dugong (sea cows), thrives in Bahrain’s surrounding waters. Land animals include scorpions, snakes and other reptiles, hares, hedgehogs, and gazelles. The government funds a conservation program to breed the endangered white, or Arabian, oryx (a type of antelope) at Al Areen Wildlife Park.
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Bahrain played in group D in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification group games. Bahrain fielded a side which was essentially the Olympic (under 23) team against Australia, and although they lost 2-0, the team put in a strong performance, frustrating their experienced opponenents and exposing weaknesses in the Australian defense. Bahrain qualified for the Asian Cup 2007 after defeating Kuwait in their last match. Bahrain were knocked out in the group stages via two losses against Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and a win against Korea Republic.
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