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Location Information
About Bahrain
Bahrain is an island 48 km long and 16 km wide, situated in
the Gulf Region midway between the Qatar peninsula and
Saudi Arabia. The island of Bahrain offers fast and efficient
access to every market in the Middle East by air, sea and
road, making it an ideal meeting place for the region’s oil
and gas industry. The King Fahd causeway provides a direct
road link to Saudi Arabia, the largest market in the region.
In 2012 a second causeway will complete a new trans-Gulf
highway running from Saudi Arabia through Bahrain to Qatar,
the United Arab Emirates and Oman, connecting the entire
Gulf market with Bahrain at the centre.
Weather
Bahrain enjoys sunny, arid weather for most of the year, with occasional light showers. During March the average temperature is 21 degrees, with temperatures dipping in the evenings, so do bring some warm clothes.
Language and religion
Arabic is the official language of Bahrain, though English is very
widely used and is the principal language of commerce.
The official religion of Bahrain is Islam as two thirds of the
population consists of Arabs, although other religions are
accepted. Visitors should be considerate of the country’s religion
in terms of wearing revealing clothing and not consuming
alcohol in public places. Drink driving is forbidden and subject
to strict penalties.
Al Fateh Mosque is the largest mosque in the country and is
located on King Faisal Highway in close proximity to Jaffair. To find
out prayer times at all the major mosques in Bahrain, please go to www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php.
Currency
The Bahraini Dinar is the official currency of Bahrain and is divisible into 1,000 fils. Bank notes are available in BD 500 fils, 5, 10, 20 denominations while coins are available in 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 fils. The Bahraini Dinar is pegged to the US dollar. The Saudi Riyal and US dollar are accepted by many shop-keepers in the kingdom.
Venue
MEOS 2009 will be hosted at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, a modern exhibition complex offering some of the finest exhibition facilities in the Middle East. Situated within five minutes of downtown Manama and close to all the major hotels and Bahrain International Airport, the centre’s facilities include a newly constructed, state of the art convention centre incorporating conference halls and hospitality suites with the capacity to accommodate 2000 delegates, along with 14,000 square metres of purpose built pillarless exhibition space with underfloor services.