Antiquing in Bahrain

I’ve enjoyed thrifting and hunting old pieces for as long as I can remember. From my teens spent trawling the charity shops of London, to spending weekends at thrift stores throughout LA in my twenties and then moving to finding my vintage (clothes, furniture, anything really!) online in my thirties.

One of the first places I visited when I moved to Bahrain, back in 2011, was Isa Town Flea Market (now sadly closed I believe for renovation after multiple fires). I did make a visit back there in 2019 but it had changed quite a bit over the years, somehow losing its essence.

I’ve always known we had a few antique stores in Bahrain and thought it would be fun to hit them all up on an antiquing day out…and it was just as much fun and fruitful as I thought it would be!

The Route

1. Gulf Antiques (by Adliya DHL); A large shop full of wooden furniture, homeware and general bric a brac. I picked up some beautiful hammered trays for food styling for only a few bd.
2. London Action Market; What a gem of a place where you can find dishware, vintage cutlery, books and paintings plus more. I spotted a few interesting pieces of 60s-70s furniture too. They don’t seem to be on google maps, but if you park at Iwan below you will see them as they are next door on the other side of the street.
3. Iwan Carpet; not technically an antique shop but it is next door to London Action Market and I always stop by to see what they have in stock. You can sometimes find old wooden carved doors, handmade benches from India, textiles and more. PS. This is my go-to for cleaning my Persian carpets.
4. Khalid Antiques; Perhaps Bahrain’s most famous antique store, they recently moved from the other side of town to their new Hoora location. A must-visit when hunting antiques. Here you will find paintings, posters, maps, antique pearling tools and much much more.
5. Big Ben Antiques; Head to the other side of the island to visit Big Ben, where piles and piles of antiques and vintage finds are all over the place. I opened every cupboard and looked in every nook and cranny to find some goodies; which included antique Japanese ceramics and vintage sherry glasses. Don’t be surprised by the vintage Rolls Royce in the back too!

Do you know of any other antique shops I should visit? Let me know!