Bahrain is an island nation situated in the Persian Gulf. Manama is its capital as well as largest city.
The country is also known as the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is home to 1.57 million residents.
1. The first discovery of oil reserves in the Arabian Gulf was here in 1932.
2. Here, there is a 400 year old tree located in the desert with no known source of water. It is known as 'The Tree of Life' and is now a popular tourist attraction.
3. It is Asia's 3rd smallest country. Only Singapore and Maldives are smaller.
4. Bahrain set the record for the world's largest flag, when in 2004, it unveiled the country's flag as the planet's biggest. The flag was 97.1 metre wide and 169.5 metre long.
5. The country hosted the first Grand Prix in the Middle East in 2004.
6. Television broadcasts here bleep out the words bacon, pork as well as pig.
7. Customers here are not allowed to operate the gas pumps to fill up their automobile tanks.
8. The Bahrain World Trade Center boasts of being the planet's first ever building to incorporate wind turbines into its design.
9. Interestingly, income tax is not levied in this island nation.
10. The much-visited Al-Fateh Mosque here, has the distinction of being one of the biggest mosques on the planet and occupies 6,500 square metres in terms of area.
11. Bahrain stands among the most prosperous nations in the world in terms of GDP per capita.
12. Water is expensive here. In fact, oil is cheaper than water.
13. An educational institution in this country holds the world record for the largest simultaneous coin toss. It took place in 2010 with a whopping 1, 117 students and staff participating.
14. Sheikha Haya Rashid Al Khalifa, a Bahrain native was the first middle eastern woman to be the UN General Assembly President.