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All Bahrain ‘Madbasa’
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

‘Madbasa’

This underground art installation recreates an ancient date honey storeroom.

Karbabad, Bahrain

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
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Step inside an ancient date honey storeroom.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Step inside an ancient date honey storeroom.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A French artist brought new life to this historic place.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Enter here to view the artwork.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The temperature drops dramatically as you enter.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Date honey has been an integral part of the region’s cuisine for centuries.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The floor glows golden in reference to the sweet, valuable contents it once contained.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Originally founded circa 2300 B.C. as the capital of the Dilmun civilization, the Qal'at al-Bahrain, or the Bahrain Fort, is a major archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the northern coast of Bahrain, facing the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The fortification saw a continuous human presence for millennia up until the 18th century, as attested by its seven layers of archaeological remains, most notably occupied by the Portuguese.

In the mid-13th century, the ruling Salgharid family installed eight chambers known as madbasa to the fort, though archaeological remains suggest that there had already been one at the site even 2,000 years before that. An integral part of traditional Gulf Arabian culture, a madbasa is a storeroom used to collect date juice for the production of dibis, or date honey, a popular syrup in the Middle East.

In the madbasa, parallel channels were cut into the floor, upon which ripe dates were piled up, so that the juice would be squeezed out by the heat and the pressure. The juice then flowed down the channels into earthenware jars.

Conceived by French artist Marie-Françoise Rouy and sound designer Luc Martinez, the art installation simply titled Madbasa was unveiled in one of the chambers of this ancient fort, part of its interactive art project, evoking the significance of the site.

Related Tags

Honey Dates Fortresses Forts Archeology

Know Before You Go

To find the entrance, head to what was once the back of the fort.

Community Contributors

Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

June 3, 2024

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‘Madbasa’
892 3618
Karbabad
Bahrain
26.232969, 50.519806
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Nearby Places

Barbar Temple

Barbar, Bahrain

miles away

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Photo of Bahrain

Bahrain

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Barbar Temple

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miles away

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Photo of Bahrain

Bahrain

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Places 7

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