October 2009

HalaBahrain Magazine | October 2009 1

HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine

Your Local Bahraini Guide!

October 2009 - Vol 2 - Issue 4

Eggs, Chai Haleeb Eggs, Chai Haleeb

& Balaleet!& Balaleet! We take you into the We take you into the

heart of a traditional heart of a traditional

Bahraini Breakfast!Bahraini Breakfast!

Thee Art of Thee Art of

MehyawaMehyawa

We interview nutcase local

band, Thee Project

Places to Go

Things to Do

Events

Tradition

And much more!


HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine Lifestyle - Technology -

Entertainment - Events ©

Cooling Down...Cooling Down... Dear Readers,

As the weather finally starts turning humane, the fun season in

Bahrain begins! Just past Eid, we’ve had a whole lot of events

and activities going on around the island; check some out in

this issue. There’s a whole lot going on too, so be ready to get

out and about this month!

Our National Football Team have also been doing wonders,

bringing us that much closer to the World Cup. We’ve got one

more game left to play in New Zealand next month, and then

it’s all the way to S. Africa! Fingers crossed!

As special features this month, we’ve interviewed one of

Bahrain’s craziest rock bands - Thee Project. These guys have

been growing in popularity over the past year with their nutty

humor; be sure to check them out. Since Ramadan is over and

we’re able to eat breakfast again, we bring you a fun review of

Breakfast at Haji’s in Manama!

We’ve got a lot more; again, we would love to hear from you;

send us your mail with thoughts about the magazine, and you

could win a prize!

Till next time,

Ammar Al-Aradi

Editor In-Chief [email protected]

The Team

Editor-in-Chief

Ammar Al-Aradi

Creative Director

Fardan Raffi

Public Relations

Mazen Madhloom

Copyright Information © All Rights reserved. This

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without the written permission

of the publisher. Liability: While

every care has been taken in

the preparation of this

magazine, the publishers

cannot be held responsible for

the accuracy of the

information herein, or any

consequence arising it.

HalaBahrain is a fully registered

online publication with the

Bahrain Ministry of Information,

under registration number

EQHBH210

HalaBahrain is published

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www.HalaBahrain.com

[email protected]

Editorial


News, Events & News, Events &

HappeningsHappenings With Ramadan over, and the weather cooling down, Bahrain once

again becomes a hotspot for events and entertainment of all types! For the art lovers, starting

throughout the month, be sure to pass by Adliya for the Al Riwaq Gallery live street art. While the

gallery is being renovated, a huge outdoor canvas has been set up, and every Friday a new artist

will share their work by painting live for the crowds. Be sure to pass by and take a look. Elham 20

takes place at Al Bareh on the 27th, with live face sketching by Shabana Feroze, a display of

paintings by Sara Aradi, and Arabic poetry recitals by Ahmed Al Shaikh.

For those looking for more of an adrenaline rush, head to Amwaj Islands on the 15th of the month to

witness the F2 Powerboat Championships, hosted in Bahrain for the first time ever. For those preferring

something closer to land, pass by the BIC for the second round of the 2000CC and National Sprint

races this season, or for the open track day if you feel like getting even closer to the action.

Party-goers have their regular dosage of club nights all throughout the week, with another Nikki

Beach and Bougi party making waves this month. There’s no shortage of live performances, as the

Bahrain Music Festival brings us a full week of global music right to our little island, and for those who

want a laugh, be sure to check out improv-comedy at Aqua Fuego on the 21st, or the live stand-up

comedy auditions at the Regency Clipper Room on the 23rd and 30th of the month.

Upcoming Bahrain Int’l Music Festival

Location: Cultural Hall

Timing: 8:00pm every night

F2 Powerboat Championships

Location: Amwaj Islands

Contact: [email protected]

10 October

Bahrain VS New Zealnd

Location: Isa Town Stadium

Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Elham 20

Location: Al Bareh Gallery

Timing: 7:30pm-9:30pm


27 October

15-16 October

10-16 October 9 October - 6 November (Fridays)

Al Riwaq Street Art

Location: Al Riwaq Gallery, Adliya

Time: 6:00pm onwards


2000cc & National Sprint

Location: Bahrain Int’l Circuit


Bougi III

Location: L’Hotel, Seef Area

Contact: +973 - 38888460

[email protected]

15 October

Live Stand Up Comedy

Location: Clipper Room, Regency

Time: 6:00pm-8:30pm


Funniest Person in Bahrain

Location: Aqua Fuego

Timing: 9:00pm - 11:00pm


21 October

23 October / 30 October

Open Track Day & 4x4 Extreme

Location: Bahrain Int’l Circuit

Contact: +973 - 17450000

16 October

6 November

Nikki Beach

Location: Ritz Carlton Island



Got something to say? Whatever it is, let us know, email us on: Got something to say? Whatever it is, let us know, email us on:

[email protected]. [email protected]. Best letter of the month wins a Best letter of the month wins a

brand new Apple iPod Nano! brand new Apple iPod Nano!

————

FROM: Ahmed

SUBJECT: Food Quests

What happened to the food

reviews? The top samboosa

and shawarma reviews were

crazy and totally fun, lets see

some more of those please!

Love the magazine, keep up

the great work!

Well, we put food on pause

for Ramadan; were back

with a tasty breakfast review

this month, and some more

specials in coming issues!

————

FROM: Trippin

SUBJECT: October

Love the magazine, can’t

wait for the next issue!

Well, here it is!

————

FROM: Gerald

SUBJECT: Well done Bahrain!

I just wanted to give a big

congratulations to the whole

island on winning against

Saudi! Good luck in the next

game and wish to see the

team in South Africa next

year! Loved the coverage!

Thanks Gerald, fingers

crossed, one more game to

play in New Zealand!

————

FROM: Angie

SUBJECT: City Center Guy

You guys keep surprising us!

Totally loved the interview,

that man keeps us smiling

whenever we see him! He’s

always a joy to see. It’s great

to know you’ve let him know

how many people appreci-

ate what he does! Thank

you from all of us!

Yes, he’s been made aware

of how famous he’s be-

come, and that’s great! Just

goes to show that a smile

goes a long way, so keep

smiling!

————

FROM: Woranon Walthong

SUBJECT: Congratulations

Congratulations! Your email

has been chosen as winner

of £1,296,000. Please send

your information to Mr. Gore

at [email protected].

Name, Age, Address, Phone

Country.

Really? We’re rich, we’re rich

woooohoooow!!!

FROM: Abdulhameed

SUBJECT: Prices

Hello Hala Bahrain. You

should do Hala Bahrain stick-

ers, I would love to have

one, I think they will be very

nice. Also as well, I think you

should give people Hala

Bahrain T-Shirts, and other

prices too. It would be very

nice! Thank you!

Judging from your grammar,

Abdul, you’re either still in

primary school, or you’ve

had a solid Bahrain-Public-

School education. What

does count, however, is that

it’s a great idea and we’ll

get right on it! For your

thoughts, we’ll send you an

iPod, and t-shirts and stickers

‘prices’ when they’re ready!

HalaBahrain MailHalaBahrain Mail Mail

Win me!Win me!

Lette

r of th

e M

on

thLe

tter o

f the

Mo

nth


After a full renovation back in

April, Adliya has been buzzing

with life. During Eid, Al Riwaq

started their street art, Elham

showcased some local talents,

and Bahrain TV filmed their Eid

specials, with traditional bands

playing music throughout! Some

of the art events go on through

the weekends, so if you have a

bit of free time, pass by and

check them out!

Eid in Adliya Eid in Adliya


Events The racing season is back! The 2000cc races started

once again at the BIC, with a ton of modified vehicles

competing for the title. Watch the coverage of this as

we go around the season. The National Sprint event

was also on with a number of nice rides (National

Sprint is for those who want to race your regular car at

the BIC), and for a small fee you can compete with

similar cars on the same track that’s used for the F1

races! For more info contact [email protected]

CR

C E

ve

nts

CR

C E

ve

nts

Photos By: Thamer Bloodline


As they always do, Al Dar Islands held another

great Full Moon Party on the 1st of October;

beach partying at it’s best, with the crowds

staying and dancing on till the early hours of

the morning! If you missed this one, make sure

to catch the next Lunar Event for new years!

Should be nuts!

Full Moon PartyFull Moon Party


RefluxReflux We’ve tried to have rock and metal concerts

in Bahrain before. We swear we have. But it

seems we always either end up labeled as

satanists, have the concerts shut down due

to ‘inappropriate attire’, or otherwise. Reflux

is a first, as Bahrain has finally managed to

put together a successful rock and metal

concert together!

Bands from Bahrain and the region flew in to

perform to a full 6 hour concert for hundreds

of fans, including lots of guitars, screaming,

and a few mosh pits too! A great time and

definitely a great start, let’s hope to see this

event repeated next year!


The performances put on were by Silverlake,

Mushroom Massacre, Instruments of Insanity,

Tragic Thought, Re-Alive, Adamant Eve, Rain

in Hell, Moonshine, and Thee Project.

Images courtesy of www.BahrainTalent.com


No More Download Limits?

We’re bubbling over rumors

that the freakishly annoying

and frustrating internet limits

might soon be a thing of the

past! Currently, all telecoms

in the country are offering

limited bandwidth packages

(besides Lightspeed, who we

haven’t heard great things about yet). Yes, they’re only

rumors right now, but apparently there are talks within

the TRA to do something about this. Let’s keep fingers

crossed and hope to see something happen soon!

Bahrain Opening F1?

Yes, it’s true! For next year’s F1, it’s

almost a definite that Bahrain will

be hosting the opening race of the

season! This means two things; first,

Bahrain will have more focus on it for

the race than usual from the eyes of

the world, with it being the first race

and all. Second, since we’re opening,

the race date will probably be in March (provisional date

at the moment is 14/3/2010), meaning we won’t have to risk

heat strokes and sunburn like we did this year! Hurray!

News

Bahrain NewsBahrain News

Dive-In Theatre

That’s not a typo; our favorite

place to take a dip, Lost Paradise

of Dilmun, has been showing

outdoor movies you can watch

while chilling in the pool! They’ve

been going on since early

September and have been quite

a hit with the crowds. They’re

only going on till the 16th of the month, so catch one

before the initiative ends. Bet you can’t get wet at your

local cinema without getting in trouble.

Feeling Funny?

Think you’re funny

but never get the

chance to prove it?

Well make sure you

register for the new

open-mic stand up

comedy sessions at

the Clipper Room in

Regency Hotel!

Hosted by Bahrain’s very own funnyman, Imran Al

Aradi, these sessions are aimed at bringing out the

undiscovered funny stuff from around the island.

There are limited spots, so if you think you have what

it takes, register now by sending an email to

[email protected]


Screams The new album By Ala Ghawas

Exclusively on: www.urfilez.com


Don’t already know where Haji’s is? It’s in a tiny alleyway right opposite ►

Standard Chartered Bank near Bab Al Bahrain. We dropped by early on a

Friday morning to catch some yummy breakfast, since we’ve missed that

first meal of the day during Ramadan! Weather was a little sunny, but the

shade was nice and cool.

We’ve done a quick write-up about Haji’s before, a little gahwa

in the middle of Manama Souq serving yummy traditional break-

fast. As Ramadan has finally passed, we decided to drop by for a

tasty breakfast, and brought the cameras along!

News

Gahwat HajiGahwat Haji

It’s only been a few minutes, but we were starving! Where is that food? ►

Uhhh, growling stomache.. Food food food...

◄ Quick service, just how we like it! The guy came and took our order

pretty quickly, and gave a big thumbs up for the camera! Nice, now

let’s wait for the tasty food to arrive...

◄ We tried to go look for our food but with no use, all we found was the guy

who makes the bread. Hmm… Yumm… Warm freshly made bread…

mmm...


Yes!!!! Food is finally here! Let’s see what we have, eggs ►

and tomatoes, balaleet (that’s sweet noodles topped with egg

for those who don’t know), daal, nashef (meat), etc etc etc..

Ok I wont waste time to explain, just dig in!

News

And what’s a good traditional ►

Bahraini breakfast without a nice

dose of Chai Haleeb (tea and

milk?). Bring it on!

◄ Yeah… This isn’t going

to last long on the plate...

◄ True enough, that didn’t last long at all! Here’s a

picture of the remains of the battle. But we were all

nice and satisfied. Tasty!

And our waiter, happy that we’re all satisfied, decides to go back to sleep! Apparently ►

our order was pretty tiring. Great stuff, don’t miss out on this great breakfast! Timings for

Haji are from 5:30am - about 11am. But get there early otherwise most of the good stuff

runs out!


After last month’s final minute surprise win

against Saudi, Bahrain moved one step

closer to reaching the World Cup! Our final

step to reaching South Africa next year is

against New Zealand, who we played in a

home game on the 10th of the month.

The Isa Town Stadium was FILLED with red,

the streets were filled with Bahrain flags,

and the whole country watched closely as

the 90 minutes ran through. With a tie of

0-0, our last away game before qualifying

will be in New Zealand on the 14th of

November! Best of luck, Bahrain!

Sports

Bahrain vs New Zealand QualifiersBahrain vs New Zealand Qualifiers


Not having enough credit in your phone to call

that girl who just gave you her number. Going

crazy trying to find a parking lot in Diplomatic

Area every day. Cats. Annoying Ramadan TV

show presenters. Enjoying a Thai massage (ahem).

All seemingly random topics, but they are what

makes Thee Projects’ songs stand out. Their music

pokes at every thing we go through, from the

regular to the wild, to the unspoken of.

Started off as a basic idea and turning into a

completely insane yet fun concept (black masks

and mehyawa bottles), the following they’ve

gotten has been HUGE. Having recently released

their first album, Thee Art of Mehyawa, and

played at different venues including the recent

Reflux Festival, they’re definitely the next big thing,

so keep an eye out for them! We speak to the

band and try to get a sense of what makes them

who they are.

* Mehyawa: Edible Fish Sauce, a dish loved by Persians everywhere

Local

The MehyawaThe Mehyawa**

TakeoverTakeover


Local

So, tell us, who are "Thee Project"?

“THEE PROjECT” are a group of dedicated Bahraini musicians who are heavily influenced by Hard Rock and

Heavy Metal music of different sub-genres. It is a "Nu-Metal / Experimental" Bahraini band, with a unique style,

blending different genres of music and Bahraini cultural influences, with Heavy guitars and hardcore vocals.

Interesting. So how did you come up with the band name?

Well, as for the name, when we 1st started out, we used to refer to the nameless band as the "project", like

"hey lets work on the project", but after a few recordings we realized that this is not just another project, this is

THEE Project! Hence the name was born!

And how did you guys start?

The band started as a 2 piece, Ano and his

cousin Necro, as an experiment to record

some musical ideas created by Ano years

ago. With Necro's musical background as a

guitarist/bassist, and Ano filling in on Vocals

and drums, the first song was recorded which

was entitled "AbuDageega – Originally called

Cats n Dogs", and was exactly 1 minute long.

The song was spread amongst friends and was

liked by many, thus demanding more material

from us. we decided then to put together the

foundation for the band, changing its name

officially to "THEE PROjECT", and setting the

rules, it being, there are no rules! Unlike other

rock/metal bands, we do not limit ourselves


Local

with a sub-genre like Metalcore or Black Metal. We can play any style of metal and at any point, mix Reggae,

Arabic, Country, Jazz etc into the mix, giving us a unique sound and a challenging experience in

creating music. The band recruited 2 additional members, Haji on drums and Buslooh on Bass, which on their

own have added much value and better ideas to the new sound which was created for the full length album

“Thee art of Mehyawa”.

Cool. So your track Chai Chai has been pretty

popular, any ideas as to why? And how did you

come up with the concept?

After creating a few songs we wanted to record a

cover, and we thought it would a great idea if we

transformed something local, or a Bahraini song, into

something Heavy, but being deeply influenced by

the Holi culture (the Mehyawa for example). We then

decided to do a Metal version of a Khodmony song,

and Chai Chai topped our list, being a very popular

song by the Bahraini/Khodmony band “Sultaneez”.


Local

So tell us what to expect from your album?

The unexpected! The album will take you on a roller-

coaster ride; you will hear things that you will surely not

expect from a Bahraini band, if you get a good laugh

and sore neck by the time you’re done listening, then

our mission is accomplished.

Explain the logo?

Ano: Necro came joking to me one day saying, hey

lets wear ski masks and hold Mehyawa bottles for

Pictures. What he did not expect from me is to actually

take the idea seriously! I created a few concept

designs which included a Mehyawa bottle, and we

decided to go with the one we currently use.

Influences?

Each member is influenced by different genres of music and sub genres of Metal, from Black Metal, Death

Metal, Nu-Metal, Progressive etc. Bands we commonly enjoy are: System of a down, Pantera, Super Joint

Ritual, Sepultura, and many more.

You guys rocked at the Reflux concert. How come we haven't seen more of your live shows around?

It’s so difficult to arrange rock gigs in Bahrain; the venue is hard to get, but mostly, getting permits for such

gigs is almost impossible. Even if we get things sorted we usually have “incidents” which result in shows being

stopped. We don’t get much support or sponsors to have gigs frequently.


Local

Last time there was a big rock concert, it got cancelled. Tell us what you think of the heavy metal and

alternative scene in Bahrain in general.

It is disliked by the majority, loved by a minority. It is still looked upon as people did when bands like Kiss and Iron

Maiden appeared in the 70’s, being labeled “Satan worshippers” and such. It’s been decades people, time to

wake up! Our music has nothing to do with Satan or the dark arts, and we try to make our music send a good

message to the youth, from anti-drugs to abstinence.

How about the music scene in Bahrain in general?

Sadly every genre in Bahrain is acceptable except Rock/Metal. Apparently no one seems to have any issues

with drug filled alcohol infused half nude rave parties, while a bunch of talented musician with “alternative”

taste get to be called infidels!

Where do you guys records/play?

Ano and Buslooh have a small setup at home, self bought equipment. Guitars usually get recorded at Buslooh’s,

with vocals, drums and mixing done at Ano’s. I’m sure many out there will be surprised by the recording quality

even though it’s a small home studio. Buslooh is our main producer/mixer.

Got any advice for people who want to start their own bands in Bahrain?

Try to be unique, and have fun! It’s not about looking cool or acting all tough and grim; image does not

determine how “Metal” you are, as long as you have “Metal” in your heart.


Local

So what are the next steps for Thee Project?

We got a whole lot of ideas on paper, and will start recording again soon. Hopefully the 2nd album will be

ready by the same time next year, and we hope to get more gigs then!

And finally, what’s Thee Projects’ favorite local food?

Mehyawa? Tikka? Samboosa? We think anything made locally and deep fried should taste good!

Nice! Okay guys, it was great talking to you.

Before we go, just let our readers know where

they can get your music?!

Thanks, you too! Our album is available for

download in high quality from urfilez.com, and

the CD’s are being sold at Room 2 Rock,

Hamala, Bahrain.

For more info on Thee Project, check out:

www.BahrainTalent.com and

www.myspace.com/theeproject666


HalaBahrainHalaBahrain MagazineMagazine

October 2009

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