- Sitra
Sitra (ArB|سترة) is an
island inBahrain , just east ofBahrain Island . It lies south ofManama andNabih Saleh . The island's western coast forms the boundary ofTubli Bay .Most of the inhabitants of the island live in seven historic villages:
Wadyan ,Kharijiya ,Marguban ,Qurayya ,Mahazza ,Sufala , andAbul Aish . The population is almost entirelyShia Baharna in ethnicity.The island used to be covered in
date palm groves andfarms , watered by severalfreshwater spring s, and the island's economy used to be based on agriculture and fishing.Originally, Two thirds of the Palm Gardens in the Island of Sitra belonged to theAl Bin Ali tribe also known asUtub .In fact, one of the villages of sitraAbul Aish was named after a palm garden belonging to one of the shaikhs of theAl Bin Ali Shaikh Salim Bin HamadAl Bin Ali which was located on the Eastern Coast of the Island.Mangrove s used to line the western coast, however they have almost disappeared due to development. Today the island suffers from massdeforestation andenvironmental pollution .The northern section of the island has been turned into an industrial area. Bapco oil storage reservoirs are located in the south Sitra. Several car and furniture showrooms also make up the new development on the island.
The
Sitra Causeway connects the north of the island toNabih Saleh and toUmm al Hussam (Manama ) onBahrain Island . A small bridge on the south west of the Sitra also joins Bahrain Island, near the villages ofMa'ameer andEker .The
Sitra Club is a cultural and sports club for the island.itra Municipality
Sitra was also the name of 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 ,Eker andNuwaidrat . [cite web
url=http://www.fallingrain.com/world/BA/6/
title=Directory of Cities and Towns in Sitrah, Bahrain
publisher=Falling Rain
accessdate=2007-07-16]The area covered by Sitra Municipality handles Bahrain's entire petroleum production. It is also the export centre for the oil fields in northeastern
Saudi Arabia . [cite web
url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9068020/Sitrah
title=Sitrah
publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica
accessdate=2007-07-16]Notes
External links
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/BA/6/ Directory of Cities and Towns in Sitrah, Bahrain]
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