8 Things You Need To Know About Bahrain’s “Arab Spring”

Everyone thinks they know about what's going on in Bahrain today, but you might be surprised by what you find

1. When I heard the ‘Arab Spring’ had reached Bahrain, I thought it would embody this:

But it actually looked more like this

Which is not far off from this

2. And images in the media portrayed it like this

But in reality it went down more like this

Just look at those peaceful Molotov cocktails and democratic tire fires!

3. And one year later I figured it would still look like this

But it was actually pretty chilled out like this

4. And while Bahraini women are currently like this

Sheikha Mai is the Minister of Culture responsible for programming behind Manama Capitol of Arab Tourism 2013!

And can do this

Women first got the right to vote in Bahrain in 1934!

The opposition’s idea of the role of women is to revert back to this

5. Bahrain’s Shura Council currently looks something like this

Diversity! Christians, Muslims, and Jews are represented across the government

But the opposition’s idea of politics is kind of like this

This is Egypt. You get the idea…

6. They want the international community and tourists to think the entire country is a mess like this

But it’s actually business as usual like this

And this

7. And most people don’t know it’s the 2013 Capital of Arab Tourism, thanks to this

And this

The mysterious Tree of Life stands alone in the desert. Some scholars believe Bahrain is the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden!

8. In the end, hardliners want Bahrain to look like this

But most of us want just want to enjoy things like this

And for the country to continue to build like this

And to innovate for the future, like this

Why yes, those are wind turbines built into the World Trade Center in Manama.