The A’ali Pottery Workshop showcases Bahrain pottery, beautiful handicrafts continuing a tradition believed to date back to the Dilmun civilization in the fourth and third millennium B.C.
Archaeologists discovered pieces of pottery in various places in northern Bahrain, including the Bahrain fort and the Dilmun Burial Mounds. Travelers to A’ali can visit this local pottery workshop to talk with the craftworkers about their traditional methods, most of which have been handed down through the generations. While here, pick up pre-made souvenir items to send home. If you want to have a custom item made for you, plan to allow several days for the curing process to be completed.
The A’ali Pottery Workshop is a traditional market with handcrafted items for sale and family-run classes open to visitors. Learn about the artisans’ pottery methods, working by hand using old-fashioned foot-powered revolving wheels. Other techniques applied include engraving, coloring and decorating the pottery and baking the pieces in a kiln. Most of the pieces made here are from gypsum mud drawn from the nearby flats of Riffa. It’s said that this workshop is 200 years old, having passed down from family to family.
To view the area where original Bahrain pottery artifacts were discovered, visit the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site, less than a 10-minute drive southwest. The site is considered one of the country’s finest preserved collections of burial mounds, including two that have been identified as the tombs of the last Dilmun kings, Ri’Mum and Yagli-‘El. Learn more about traditional Bahrain pottery at the architecturally impressive Bahrain National Museum in Manama, where you’ll find halls devoted to the Dilmun Burial Mounds, Graves, Tylos and Islam, Customs and Traditions, Traditional Trades and Crafts, and Documents and Manuscripts.
A'ali is located 9 miles (14 kilometers) southwest of Manama. The A’ali Pottery Workshop is open to visitors from Saturday to Thursday. Find the site in A’ali west of the roundabout with the massive pot sculpture in the center. For the best accommodation choices, look for hotels in Manama.
