Bahrain: A tourist and cultural destination

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A FAMILY museum that will serve as a tourist and cultural destination in the heart of the kingdom’s capital was discussed at a meeting of officials from the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) and the Yusuf Bin Ahmed (YBA) Kanoo Group.The Kanoo Museum, in Manama Suq, is being built at the historic headquarters of YBA Kanoo Group which was initially inaugurated in 1960 by the late Ruler of Bahrain, His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.It will showcase the family’s history of more than 130 years in trade and commerce that span across three continents and shed light on the regional trade and business environment of the Arabian Gulf in an attempt to inspire new generations of entrepreneurs in the region.

The meeting, at the YBA Kanoo Tower in Manama, was attended by Baca president Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and YBA Kanoo Group board chairman Khaled bin Mohammed Kanoo.Present were YBA Kanoo Group vice-chairman Fawzi Kanoo and members of the board and Baca officials.The GDN reported in May last year that Kanoo Real Estate had signed a construction agreement with Almoayyed Contracting Group to commence the development of the Kanoo Museum.It will cover a total built-up area of 7,000sqm and will include space for permanent and temporary exhibitions, a library, archive rooms, galleries, meeting rooms, as well as an auditorium.

The museum will include a welcoming space for visitors, presentations that portray the story, aided by a collection of YBA Kanoo artefacts, dating back from the group’s inception, as well as a creative space for artists and creators to display their collections and to host art and cultural workshops and seminars.The project also aims to preserve the iconic elements of the original building which was one of the first buildings in Bahrain built using a robust steel structure and dates back to the previous century.