Day Four in Bahrain

On Thursday morning we took a field trip to a women's art collective, a cultural center that specializes in the preservation of Bahraini crafts. We saw a man building a three foot replica of a Bahraini doh, or pearl diving ship. We met the most popular stained glass maker in the Persian gulf. He assured us that any stained glass we saw in Bahrain was likely to have been made by him. He randomly told us he owned 25 cars and 125 pairs of shoes. 

We went into the different workshops and saw groups of women making things like paper, ceramic tiles, basket weaving, and embroidery. They were all extremely kind and light of spirit, despite the language barrier. Of course we all loved the gift shop and stocked up on souvenirs.

Swords for everyone!

On the way to the hotel we made a pit stop at the Bahraini sword Museum. Our tour guide seemed to "know a guy" where ever we went, and we toured a lot of places for free because of his connections.

The guys freaked out over the ancients swords. We saw one spectacular sword that belonged to the king of Saudi Arabia, which was encrusted in diamonds and gold plating - it was truly spectacular. The metal blade is tainted with mercury, and even a scratch can kill you from blood poisoning. Serious stuff.

After a brief rest at the hotel, we traveled back to the fort to prepare for our first show. Our dressing rooms where in trailers, with a separate catering room. A girl could get used to that.

The show was well received. In rehearsal we had gone through the show with a fine toothed comb, clarifying our language and gesture choices to tell the story, in case there was a language barrier. They all speak English and the kids were very vocal and appreciative with their giggles in all the right places. They felt the same as our us audiences.

Vicci doing her best Miss America

After the show we met some children, and had them pose for pictures with the big Knuffle Bunny puppet. Some new friends from our workshop came to the show and presented us with roses.

It was an extremely satisfying evening.