Now & Then Bahrain - Hardcover

Nowell, John J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0953303403 ISBN 13: 9780953303403

Publisher: Zodiac Publishing, 1999

Bahrain has emerged in the latter half of the century as a country of the new millenium. Its transformation has been dramatic. The discovery of oil rescued a nation suffering from the sudden and unexpected demise of the pearling industry and transformed it into a vibrant modern state.

It would be easy to forget the monumental strides that have been taken over the space of barely three generations. Fortunately, old photographs exist, many of them taken by pilots whose duties have brought them to the region over the years, to show the extent of the changes.

It was while studying some of these old photos – the “then” part of the title – that John Nowell, himself a pilot and photographer, decided to try to duplicate the photographers’ location to achieve the “now” views of Now & Then: Bahrain. His research has taken him all over the world followed by his photographic work in Bahrain, both in the air and on the ground. In this process many sights and details have been revealed that might easily have simply vanished with time. By the slipway adjacent to the old swing bridge, he photographed a dhow nakoudah who was born in 1904. John enlisted his help to step a mast and hoist the only traditional lanteen sail left in Bahrain. On the exposed tidal flats near the modern Grand Mosque, he photographed traditional dhows, now used for shrimp fishing, against the backdrop of modern high rise buildings built on reclaimed land. 1.2 km inland from the Grand Mosque he discovered the old original flying boat terminal, fitted with the original ceiling fans dating from the 1930s.

Now & Then - Bahrain provides a fascinating insight into a nation in continuous transition, a beautiful and historical photographic record and an inspiration for photographers n the years to come.

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About the Author:

Yorkshire-born John Nowell completed his first wing over at the age of fourteen as a member of the Air Training Corps, in a De Havilland Chipmunk. He decided then and there that flying was to be his career. After leaving school, he joined the Royal Air Force but was too late to achieve his ambition of flying Sunderland flying boats. He did serve on some of the great flying boat squadrons, numbers 206, 205 and 230, where in addition to his flying duties he was responsible for the squadron records, including the photo albums and the RAF Form 540s – the monthly operational record of the squadron. It was here that John first saw the amazing records of the exploration flights, made in the 1930s, by the flying boat crews who crossed half the world to Australia and the Far East.

John was made a Licenciate of The Royal Photographic Society in 1990 on the basis of the photographs in his first book, A Day Above Oman. His photographic interest in history and archeology was also instrumental in the location of four-thousand-year-old tombs on a remote plateau in Oman. This lead him being made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is also an Upper Freeman of the Guild of Pilots and Navigators. Now based in Dubai he is working on further books in the ‘A Day Above’ and ‘Now & Then’ series.

Review:

Old photographs of the Gulf fascinate the observer. Few places in the world have changed so much, so quickly... -- Bahrain (A Special International Report Prepared by The Washington Times Advertising Department), March 21, 2000

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