The Bahrain World Trade Center is one of Manama’s most recognizable landmarks: a pair of sail-shaped towers joined by three bridges, each fitted with a wind turbine. Completed in 2008, the 240-metre skyscraper was the first in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design, using the shape of the towers to help channel Gulf breezes toward them.
The building captures a moment in Bahrain’s modernization, when ambitious architecture and environmental engineering became part of the kingdom’s vision for the future. Its three turbines make the skyline silhouette unmistakable, while the curved towers draw on the maritime imagery of traditional Arabian sails. Even if you only see it from outside, the contrast between the glass façades and the mechanical bridges is worth a closer look.
Visit in daylight for the clearest photographs of the turbines, or come around sunset to see the towers against Manama’s changing skyline. The complex is a working commercial building, so access to office areas may be restricted. You can combine a stop with a visit to the adjoining Moda Mall; check its opening hours before you go.