Sitra (Arabic: سترة or Arabic: سِتْرَة,[1] also: As Sitra,[2] Jazīrat Sitrah[3] and Jazīrat as Sitra[4]) is an island in the Central Governorate of Bahrain, just east of Bahrain Island in Persian Gulf. It lies south of Manama and Nabih Saleh. The island's western coast forms the boundary of Tubli Bay.
Most of the inhabitants of the island live in seven historic villages: Wadyan, Kharijiya, Marguban, Qurayya, Mahazza, Sufala, and Abul Aish. The population is almost entirely Shia Baharna.
The island used to be covered in date palm groves and farms, watered by several freshwater springs, and the island's economy used to be based on agriculture and fishing. Mangroves used to line the western coast, however they have almost disappeared due to development.
The northern section of the island has been turned into an industrial area. Bapco oil storage reservoirs are located in the south. Sitra is also the terminus of the 42-km Dhahran-Sitra natural gas pipeline, which connects it to Dahran in Saudi Arabia.[5]
Several car and furniture showrooms also make up the new development on the island.
The Sitra Causeway connects the north of the island to Nabih Saleh and to Umm al Hussam (Manama) on Bahrain Island. A small bridge on the south west of the Sitra also joins Bahrain Island, near the villages of Ma'ameer and Eker.
The Sitra Club is a cultural and sports club for the island. Also, Sitra is the site of many school campuses such as Al Noor International School and Indian School, Bahrain.
Sitra was also the name of a municipality in Bahrain before they were re-organized as governorates. The Sitra Municipality consisted of the island of Sitra and three villages close to it on the main island of Bahrain: Ma'ameer, Eker and Nuwaidrat.[6]
The area covered by Sitra Municipality handles Bahrain's entire petroleum production. It is also the export centre for the oil fields in northeastern Saudi Arabia. [7]
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