Al Dair is a village in Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

 on the northern coast of Muharraq Island

Muharraq Island

Muharraq Island is the third largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island and Hawar Island. It is named after Muharraq City, the former capital of Bahrain.There are several towns and villages located on the Island, including:...

. It lies north of the Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport is an international airport located in Muharraq, an island on the northern tip of Bahrain, about northeast of the capital Manama...

, and north west of Samaheej

Samaheej

Samaheej is a village in Bahrain on the northern coast of Muharraq Island. Al Dair village lies to its northwest, while Galali lies to its southeast...

 village.

Before the discovery of oil in Bahrain, most of the inhabitants were involved in farming, especially date palm

Date Palm

The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...

s, and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

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The inhabitants of Al Dair are Baharna

Baharna

The Bahrani are the indigenous Shi'a inhabitants of the archipelago of Bahrain and the oasis of Qatif on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia . The term is sometimes also extended to the Shi'a inhabitants of the al-Hasa oasis. They are all Arabic speaking, and some claim descent from Arab tribes...

 Shias.

The name Al Dair is believed to mean "parish" or "monastery", indicating the Christian past of Muharraq Island

Muharraq Island

Muharraq Island is the third largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island and Hawar Island. It is named after Muharraq City, the former capital of Bahrain.There are several towns and villages located on the Island, including:...

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Education

The Ministry of Education operates government schools. Al-Dair Primary Intermediate Girls School is in Al Dair. Al-Dair Primary Boys School is located in adjacent Arad

Arad, Bahrain

Arad is a town in Bahrain, located on Muharraq Island. It lies east of Muharraq City and northwest of Hidd. It was originally a small farming village inhabited by Baharna Shia...

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