Jidda Island
Encyclopedia
Jidda Island is an islet
in Bahrain
. It lies to the west of Bahrain Island
and just north of Umm an Nasan
in Persian Gulf
. It is connected to Umm an Nasan
by a short causeway.
Jidda used to be the location of one of Bahrain's prisons. Majeed Marhoon
, Abdulhadi Khalaf
and several other political activists spent time in the prison in the sixties and seventies.
It later became the private property of Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and is currently closed from the public. The island has a palace, gardens, a helipad
, a mosque
and several other facilities used by the Prime Minister and his Family.
The island is made of limestone
cliffs. It is believed that blocks of rock cut from the island were used in the Barbar temple
on Bahrain Island
.
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
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...
. It lies to the west of Bahrain Island
Bahrain Island
Bahrain Island is the largest island within the archipelago of Bahrain, and forms the bulk of the country's land mass while hosting the majority of its population. Around most of the Island of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain...
and just north of Umm an Nasan
Umm an Nasan
Umm an Nasan island is the fourth largest island in Bahrain, after Bahrain Island, Hawar Island and Muharraq Island. It is privately owned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and is off limits to ordinary citizens. It is connected to Bahrain Island through the King Fahd Causeway. There is little...
in Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. It is connected to Umm an Nasan
Umm an Nasan
Umm an Nasan island is the fourth largest island in Bahrain, after Bahrain Island, Hawar Island and Muharraq Island. It is privately owned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and is off limits to ordinary citizens. It is connected to Bahrain Island through the King Fahd Causeway. There is little...
by a short causeway.
Jidda used to be the location of one of Bahrain's prisons. Majeed Marhoon
Majeed Marhoon
Majeed Marhoon was a Bahrani saxophonist, and a former Leftist political activist with the National Liberation Front of Bahrain. He spent 22 years in prison in Bahrain between 1968 and 1990, accused of planting a bomb in the car of a British intelligence officer of 21 March 1966...
, Abdulhadi Khalaf
Abdulhadi Khalaf
Abdulhadi Khalaf is a Bahrani leftist political activist and academic. He received his primary and secondary education in Bahrain, then went abroad for college. He obtained a doctorate in sociology from Sweden's University of Lund in 1972...
and several other political activists spent time in the prison in the sixties and seventies.
It later became the private property of Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and is currently closed from the public. The island has a palace, gardens, a helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
, a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
and several other facilities used by the Prime Minister and his Family.
The island is made of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliffs. It is believed that blocks of rock cut from the island were used in the Barbar temple
Barbar temple
The Barbar Temple is an archaeological site located in the village of Barbar, Bahrain, and considered to be part of the Dilmun culture. The most recent of the three Barbar temples was rediscovered by a Danish archaeological team in 1954. A further two temples were discovered on the site with the...
on Bahrain Island
Bahrain Island
Bahrain Island is the largest island within the archipelago of Bahrain, and forms the bulk of the country's land mass while hosting the majority of its population. Around most of the Island of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain...
.
External links
- Jidda Island
- Article about politics of the islands, Abbas al Murshid
- Jidda Island Mosque - Archnet.org
See also
- Umm an NasanUmm an NasanUmm an Nasan island is the fourth largest island in Bahrain, after Bahrain Island, Hawar Island and Muharraq Island. It is privately owned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and is off limits to ordinary citizens. It is connected to Bahrain Island through the King Fahd Causeway. There is little...
- Umm as SabaanUmm as SabaanUmm as Sabaan is an islet in Bahrain. It lies off the north western corner of Bahrain Island, near Budaiya village, and east of Jidda Island, located in Persian Gulf....