Al-Haddad M K, Al-Offi Adel
Professor of Psychiatry, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.
Consultant Psychiatrist, Ministry of Health, Bahrain.
Int Psychiatry. 2009 Jan 1;6(1):14-16. eCollection 2009 Jan.
The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, located in the Arabian Gulf, covering 2400 km. The main island, Manama, is the nation's capital. The total population stands at 742 562, 62.3% of whom are local Bahrainis and the remaining 37.7% expatriates (Central Statistics Organisation Directorate, 1991). Bahrain first entered the historical stage around 3000 BC, and for almost 2000 years was the centre of the old Dilmun civilisation (Bibby, 1969). Dilmun was perceived as a sacred land by the Sumerians and Babylonians; it was a burial ground for their dead, and Bahrain has over 100 000 burial mounds each containing 200-250 bodies. In the old Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, which antedates Homer's Iliad, Dilmun is described as a paradise where the worthy enjoy eternal life (Clarke, 1981).
巴林王国是一个由33个岛屿组成的群岛国家，位于阿拉伯湾，面积达2400平方公里。主岛麦纳麦是该国首都。总人口为742562人，其中62.3%是巴林本地人，其余37.7%为外籍人士（中央统计局，1991年）。巴林大约在公元前3000年首次进入历史舞台，在近2000年的时间里一直是古迪尔蒙文明的中心（比贝，1969年）。迪尔蒙被苏美尔人和巴比伦人视为圣地；它是他们死者的墓地，巴林有超过10万个古墓冢，每个墓冢里有200至250具尸体。在早于荷马《伊利亚特》的古巴比伦史诗《吉尔伽美什》中，迪尔蒙被描述为一个值得的人能享受永生的天堂（克拉克，1981年）。
