Sitra ( ar, سترة or , ''As-Sitra''), also known as Sitrah ( ar, Jazīrat Sitrah, script=Latn) or Sitra Island ( ar, Jazīrat as-Sitra, script=Latn), is an

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

in Bahrain. It lies south of the capital,

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...

, on Bahrain Island.

History

;Conflict with Al Khalifa in 1782 In 1782, a conflict occurred between locals and a number of Al Khalifa who came from Zubara to buy supplies. The clashes resulted in deaths from both sides. ;Arab Spring During the Arab Spring, there was a big protest here. Many protesters were injured or killed. (See Day of Rage (Bahrain)).

Geography

The Island is located just east of Bahrain Island in

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

. It lies south of

and Nabih Saleh. The island's western coast forms the boundary of Tubli Bay. The island used to be covered in

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Ea ...

groves and

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

s, watered by several

freshwater spring A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

Mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

s used to line the western coast, however they have almost disappeared due to development.

Demography

Most of the inhabitants of the island live in nine historic villages: * Wadyan * Al Kharijiya *

Marquban Marquban (Arabic: مرقوبان) is a village in Sitra, Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and ...

* Al Garrya * Mahazza * Sufala * Abul Aish * Halat Um al-Baidh (the location of the yacht club and Al Bandar resort) * Al Hamriya There is a massive land reclamation project called East Sitra which increased the island size by 50% and has a new city built on it.

Economy

The island's economy used to be based on agriculture and fishing. The northern section of the island has been turned into an industrial area. Bapco oil storage reservoirs are located in the south. Sitra is also the terminus of the 42-km Dhahran-Sitra

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

pipeline, which connects it to Dahran in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. Several car and furniture showrooms also make up the new development on the island. The Sitra Club is a cultural and sports club for the island. Today Sitra handles Bahrain's entire petroleum production. It is the location of

Port of Sitra A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

. It is also the export center for the oil fields in northeastern

Education

Sitra is the site of many school campuses such as

Al Noor International School Al Noor International School is a selective private school in Bahrain founded on September 6, 1993, by private investors. The school teaches over 3000 students from more than 40 countries, mainly the United States, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, I ...

and Indian School, Bahrain. The Applied Science University is located here.

Transportation

The Sitra Causeway connects the north of the island to Nabih Saleh and to

Umm al Hussam Umm Al Hassam ( ar, أم الحصم) (trans. ''Mother of Sea Shells'') is a middle-class neighbourhood on the southern coast of Manama, which is the capital of Bahrain. The neighborhood is home to the majority of Bahrain's local Jewish community. ...

(

) on Bahrain Island. Two small bridges on the south west of Sitra also joins Bahrain Island, near the villages of Ma'ameer and

Eker Eker ( ar, العكر) is an area in Bahrain, located near the villages of Nuwaidrat, Ma'ameer and the island of Sitra. It is divided into 2 regions: East Eker and West Eker, with Shias making up the majority of the former's population. ...

Administration

The southern part of the island belongs to

Southern Governorate The Southern Governorate () has the largest area of the four governorates of Bahrain, and the smallest population (91,450). It includes parts of Bahrain's old municipalities – Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiya ...

and the northern part to Capital Governorate. Between 1990 and 2013 it was part of Central Governorate of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, but that is now dissolved. Between 1920 and 1990 it was part of Sitra Municipality.

Sitra Municipality

This was a municipality in Bahrain before they were re-organized as Governorates. The Sitra Municipality consisted of the island of Sitra and three villages close to it on the main island of Bahrain: Ma'ameer,

and Nuwaidrat.

Image gallery

File:Un-bahrain.png, Map 1 File:Bahrain, administrative divisions 2014 - de - colored.svg, Map Districts File:Capital Governorate in Bahrain 2014.svg, District Map File:Southern Governorate in Bahrain 2014.svg, District Map File:BapcoTanks-SitraBahrain.jpg,

Bapco Bahrain The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) is an integrated national oil company of Bahrain. History The BAPCO was established in 1929 in Canada by Standard Oil Company of California for oil exploration activities in Bahrain. It took over Bahr ...

oil reservoirs in Sitra File:Sitra Wharf, 1940.jpg, Berth number 4 in Sitra

Wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...

in 1940 File:Bahrain-Sitrah.png, Map of Bahrain showing Sitrah municipality File:Sitra_cemetery_-_Flickr_-_Al_Jazeera_English.jpg, Cemetery File:Women taking part in a pro-democracy sit in in Sitra.jpg, Women taking part in a pro-democracy sit-in in Sitra File:Bahrain map.png, Sitra (Sitrah), east of Manama, in Bahrain Sitra Island

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sitra Populated places in Bahrain Islands of Bahrain Artificial islands of Bahrain Former municipalities (regions) of Bahrain