OPENING HOURS
Saturday - Thursday
8 AM - 1 PM
4 PM - 7 PM
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ABDULLAH AL ZAYED HOUSE FOR BAHRAINI PRESS HERITAGE & EXTENSION
The Abdullah Al Zayed House for Bahraini Press Heritage was the first restoration project undertaken by the Shaikh Ebrahim Center with private sponsors. The newly restored 100-year old building opened in November 2003. Being the house of the founder of the first weekly newspaper in Bahrain and the Gulf, the house is dedicated to the preservation of Bahrain’s press heritage and at the same time preserves part of the country’s unique architectural traditions.
The extension of the Abdullah Al Zayed House for Bahraini Press Heritage opened in June 2009.
The restoration of the Abdullah Al Zayed House was sponsored by His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, BBK, National Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain Credit and Bahrain Kuwait Insurance. The extension was sponsored by Her Highness Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa and the National Bank of Bahrain.
ABDULLAH AL ZAYED (1899-1945)
Abdullah bin Ali bin Jabber Al Zayed was born on 1 January, 1899 in Muharraq. He studied the quoran at the informal school of Shaikh Isa bin Rashid bin Ahmed in Muharraq and later joined the Al Ahlia School, established by Ali bin Ebrahim al Zayani in the early 1920s.
At a young age, he made contact with the forum of the famous Bahraini poet Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and became one of its regular visitors and pioneer young writers. He was one of the founders of the Literature Club in Muharraq in 1920 and was its secretary until 1929. He chaired the Bahraini Committee to honor the poet Ahmed Shawqi following Shawqi’s appointment as “Prince of Poets” in 1927, the highest award in the Arab world in the field of poetry.
Abdullah Al Zayed was the secretary of the National Movement under the leadership of Shaikh Abdul Wahab Al Zayani from 1921-6. In 1929 he travelled to India to study and became proficient in English. The then continued his travels to Baghdad, Beirut, Italy, France and Britain.
He corresponded with many Arab newspapers and was widely published, such as in Al Faiha, Al Damashqia and Arab Audience, and maintained strong relations with many Arab leaders, poets, writers and intellectuals. He established the Modern Bahrain Press and Library in 1932 and in 1936/7 established the Theater and Movie House in Manama. On 8 March 1938, he started publishing the daily Bahrain Newspaper, which was then published weekly. This newspaper was published for six years, during which time it covered current affairs in Bahrain, the Arabian Gulf and other Arab countries. Abdullah Al Zayed was the only editor working on this newspaper and he welcomed contributions and views of both men and women in the fields of culture, arts and literature.
Abdullah Al Zayed passed away on 5 May, 1945.
THE BAHRAIN NEWSPAPER
The Bahrain Newspaper was founded in 1938 and was the first weekly newspaper in the Gulf region. It was issued in four large-format pages and carried items derived from the Arab Broadcasting Services or Arabic speaking broadcasting services, especially the BBC.
During World War II, the newspaper became politicized and sided with the Allied Forces.
The newspaper also published the writings of writers and poets from Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf. Amongst those poets were Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa and Ebrahim Al Arrayed. It also published the writings of poets from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Issue No. 276, dated 15 May, 1994 was the last published issue of the newspaper.
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