The country that is now Bahrain was one of the first places where humans ever lived. In fact, some people say that the Garden of Eden in the Bible was in Bahrain. But even though Bahraini history may go back to ancient times, today it is one of the most modern countries in the world.
巴林這個國家曾是人類最早定居的地方之一。事實上，有人說聖經中的伊甸園就位於巴林。不過，雖然巴林的歷史可以追溯到遠古時期，現今的巴林卻是全球最現代化的國家之一。
A closer look 說古論今
PHOTO: AP
With an area of 665km2, Bahrain is less than 100km2 larger than Saudi Arabia's biggest airport. It is made up of 33 islands located in the Persian Gulf. Ninety-two percent of the country is desert, and only 1 percent can be used as farmland. Because it doesn't have many resources, Bahranians used to make most of their money by diving for pearls, but that industry died off in the 1930s when Japan figured out how to make much cheaper pearls.
Today, Bahrain is unique among other countries in the Middle East. It doesn't have as much oil as some of its neighbors, so it has worked hard to diversify its economy. Today, banking and tourism are important sources of its revenue, which means that instead of just a few people being very rich, the society has a large middle class.
Bahraini culture is a mixture of traditional Arab culture and modern influences. Most people wear traditional Islamic clothing, but it is also common to see both men and women wearing modern clothing. Bahrain is also one of the more religiously tolerant countries in the area. Its official religion is Islam, but mosques often stand next to Christian churches, as well as Hindu and Jewish temples. Education is paid for by the government, and Bahrain publishes more books per person than any other country in the Middle East.
巴林的國土面積佔六百六十五平方公里，只比沙烏地阿拉伯最大的機場大不到一百平方公里。巴林由波斯灣的三十三個島嶼組成，國土面積有92%是沙漠，只有1%可做為農業用地。由於缺乏天然資源，巴林人民過去以採集珍珠謀生，不過一九三○年代日本想出了創造更平價珍珠的養殖法後，巴林的珍珠產業就一厥不振。
現今，巴林在中東國家中可說是獨樹一幟。它不像部分鄰國坐擁豐沛的石油資源，所以努力開創多元的經濟體。目前，銀行與觀光業是巴林重要的歲收來源，意味巴林並非只有少數人富裕，整個社會擁有廣大的中產階級。
巴林的文化融合了傳統阿拉伯文化與現代化的影響。人民大多穿著傳統伊斯蘭服飾，但看到男女穿著現代服飾也是稀鬆平常之事。巴林也是中東地區宗教容忍度較高的國家之一。巴林的主要宗教為伊斯蘭教，但清真寺的旁邊往往就是基督教教堂、印度寺廟與猶太殿堂。政府負擔人民的教育學費，而巴林出版的書籍數量佔人口平均值之比例，也比中東其他國家高。（翻譯︰賴美君）
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