|
Beit Sheikh
lsa
Beit Sheikh Isa is a traditional Bahraini house built in the 19th
century in the old town of
al-Muharraq. It was for many years the home of Shaikh Isa
bin Ali al- Khalifa, Bahrain's ruler from 1869 until 1932 when he
abdicated in favor of his son Sheikh Hamad.
The house is designed around four
 courtyards
each with a unique function. The main entrance and vestibule opens
into the Women's Court, the
southern part of which leads to a portico where the ladies would sit
and embroider. Apartments for unmarried ladies are separate. On the
second floor were the Sheikh’s private apartments. The children's
summer living rooms, also on the second floor, are enclosed by 10
carved wooden shutters with an equally ornate curved porch. The
walls, window frames, doorways and recessed shelves are decorated in
dark painted panels of curved plaster projecting slightly from the
background from floor to ceiling, and carved gypsum ornamentation. A
wind tower keeps the house cool.
The Men's and Visitors' Court, the
Women's majlis, and the business majlis are decorated in
traditionally painted wood and mat ceiling with stained glass
windows.
|
