The small island nation of Bahrain, weekend playland of wealthy Saudis, is a well-developed society with ultra-modern architecture. Originally known for its pearl industry, it was the first in the region to move away from an oil-based economy and is today focused on banking and tourism. This former British protectorate has been independent since 1971, and in 2011 experienced its own ‘Arab Spring’.

The island today known as Bahrain was the first area to adopt Islam as its official religion, in the 10th century. The nation takes a moderate stance on religion today, and other faiths are also permitted — including the appointment of a Jewish woman as ambassador to US, and a Christian female ambassador to UK. However, journalists are known to exercise great caution when writing about religious topics — in order to avoid prosecution.

The National Theatre of Bahrain, in the capital city of Manama, sits on the water adjacent to the equally impressive National Museum, both a testament to this small nation’s dedication to the arts — the theatre the third-largest of its kind in the region.

Samples of exquisite glasswork in the National Museum of Bahrain at Manama. The museum focuses on the ancient Dilmun people of the island as well as the ensuing civilisation, displayed in archaeological, ethnographic, and religious artifacts — even a genuine burial mound relocated to the site. Along with decorative arts, it is a testament to the Bahraini people.

This model of a traditional Bahraini home, built to actual size, can be seen in the National Museum of Bahrain at Manama. Extended families shared a home of multiple rooms built in a square around an open courtyard. Homes today typically adhere to similar principles, with exceptionally large common spaces around which smaller rooms can be found.

This embroidered baby’s cap provides another example of the highly detailed traditional Bahraini handcraft.

Bahrain represents one of the world’s oldest civilisations, the Dilmun people; their unique burial customs included the use of clay jars or small coffins to enclose the bodies, and an estimated 170,000 ancient burial mounds have been found throughout the island — resulting in UNESCO inscription as world cultural heritage.

~EWP

Austria, and its stately capital of Vienna. Sophisticated, strongly focused on the classical arts, intellectual discourse and café culture — and high-end shopping. The country today has become increasingly diverse, though not without some controversial push-back against same, in a backdrop of questions regarding its WWII past.

Vienna is filled with elegant architecture and eager shoppers, no time moreso than December and its Christmas markets. The Old City is centred on luxury brands, while the outer districts include shopping malls and street markets — and ethnic neighborhoods with a diversity of products.

 

A predominantly Catholic country, unlike its protestant neighbor to the north, Austria’s freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed. Religious participation in general is on the decline, however, dropping from 73.6% Catholic in 2001 to only 56.9% in 2018, as reported by the Austrian Catholic Church.

Along with the musical contributions of none other than Mozart and Beethoven, Austria also gave to the world the genius of Dr Sigmund Freud. Though not all of his theories are still supported today, he and those who built upon his ideas forever changed the way we understand human psychology.

One of the ongoing controversies that continues to tarnish Austria’s reputation is the country’s involvement in WWII and the attempted genocide of European Jews. While Austria maintains a claim of victimization by Nazi Germany (‘the Nazis’ first victim’), this stance was not taken until the end of the war; a statement of ‘responsibility’ was issued in 1991, but no adequate admission of guilt has yet been formally given. The nation’s difficult relationship with its past remains.

Today, artists and others continue the effort to encourage Austria to acknowledge its role in WWII, apologize formally for its collaboration with Nazi Germany, and to memorialise the deaths of its 65,000 Jewish citizens. A survey conducted earlier this year revealed a significant lack of knowledge among Austrians regarding the Holocaust — against a backdrop of rising anti-Semitism in this county and throughout Europe.

~EWP

Denmark. Long a symbol of open-mindedness and tolerance, first in the world (1989) to extend the right of marriage to same sex couples — even as Danish society moved away from the expectation of marriage overall. Freetown in Christiania, a self-governing alternative community in he middle of Copenhagen. Primarily Danish in ethnicity, but with significant minority communities from at least 10 other countries; officially Lutheran with a strong tradition of religious freedom, including Catholic churches, synagogues, and mosques — and a high percentage of non-observant. One of the highest rankings for gender equality and for eco-friendly practices. And of course: an overwhelming orientation to the sea.

Denmark is surrounded by the sea, a dominant factor in its history — and in modern society. Life, community, time — especially in summer — revolves around the waterfront; this tableau is Copenhagen’s harbour, with many more waterways to choose from.

The Danes also have a long tradition in the arts, as embodied by Copenhagen’s new waterfront opera house. Denmark has contributed to the humanities far beyond expectation for such a small country — visual and performing, writers and composers, unique design in furniture as well as architecture, philosophy — and in the sciences as well.

Copenhagen’s Workers Museum pays tribute to the working class of Denmark, going back more than 1500 years. Relevant philosophies, including social welfare, industrialisation, Marxism, and socialism in its varied forms, are represented equally and neutrally, and the workers’ unions and labour laws highlighted.

Much has been made of Denmark’s rescue, during WWII, of 6400-8500 Jewish people — 90% of the country’s Jewish population at that time. In 1943, average Danes put their own lives on the line to help their Jewish neighbors, by hiding them or sneaking them out of the country in small fishing boats. The story is more nuanced, of course — and there is an anti-Semitic thread in Danish culture, then and now, that cannot be denied. Nevertheless: the Danes took action, on principles of ethics and a shared humanity, when many others failed to do so. [Photo: Jewish Museum, Copenhagen]

~EWP

Cyprus. Long a summer resort destination, known for its beautiful beaches, it remains popular today despite political tensions and past, still unresolved, military conflict. A divided country, a mournful populace — all the while immersed in their island’s natural beauty and cradled by the sea.

The sheer beauty of Cyprus is breathtaking, from its olive and lemon groves to its vineyards and from beach to snowy mountain (in winter!) — a topography reflected in the Cypriots’ embrace of diversity and deep connection to the land.

Cyprus is also an island of ancient history, with archaeological digs from Pafos in the southwest to Salamis in the northeast. Here, one of many well-preserved mosaics in Pafos — mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty.

Church of St. Lazarus, 9th century, oldest church in Cyprus. Christianity was introduced to the island in 45CE, while under Roman rule; from 395 to 647, Cyprus was part of the Byzantine empire, then Arabic reign to 965. It became a possession of the Venetians from 1489 to 1571, when the Ottoman empire annexed the island until 1914 — followed by the British. Thus, this small island nation has been influenced variously by Persian, Greek, and Roman traditional religions, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Islam again, and Anglicanism!

Since the 1970s, Cyprus has been a divided island — physically, politically, economically, emotionally. A majority of Turkish Cypriots left the island with the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1914, rendering the remaining such population a small minority; when the British departed in 1960, they found themselves under threat by Greece (especially during its dictatorship, 1967-1974), and with some Greek Cypriot sympathizers, to annex the island yet again. The Turkish army, ostensibly to protect their Cypriot cousins, entered the island in force in 1974, and violence ensued, with unresolved issues, discoveries of mass graves, and missing persons to this day. Several times, as recently as 2018, it seemed that the dispute would finally be resolved — only to have peace talks collapse once more. [Photo: Nicosia, Republic of Cyprus]

~EWP