Hue City (CG 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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These people are defending your country Our Ship A to Z Knowledge is power. For this reason we maintain an active ESWS program to educate our Sailors. Deployment 2002 69

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68 USS Hue City (CG-66)

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On April 17th. 2002, USS Hue City pulled into port at Naval Support Activity. Bahrain The crew conducted operations ashore and got to observe Muslim culture first hand Many crew mem- bers took advantage ol the inexpensive gold and bought jewelry. Ji The state consists of two separate groups of islands. The island of Bahrain, u hich at 225 squaa miles (580 square km) accounts for seven-eighths of the ci unir ' s total land arca, is surrounded by smaller islands. Two of these — Al- Muharraq and .Sitrah. both to the northeast — arc joined to Bahrain Island by causeways that have facilitated residential and mdustrial de elopment; other islands in the group are Nabj Salih. Al-Muhanimadi ah ( I ' mm As-Sabbyn ). L ' mm .An-Na san ( linked b the King F-ahd Causcw ay ). and Jiddah. The second group consists of the Haw ar islands, w hich are also claimed b and situated near the coast of Qal;ir. aK)ul 1 2 miles ( 19 ktii) soullieasl of Balirain Island: small and rivk . they are inhabited b i nly a few fishemien and quarn. wxirkers. Summer in B;ihrain is unpleasant, as high temperatures frequently coincide v ith high humidits Midda temperatures fn m . la to CXtober exceed X) F-(. 2 C). oltcn reaching 95 F (. 5 C) or higher, summer nights are sullr and humid. Winters are c(X)ler and more pleasant, w ith mean temperatures from December to March dipping to 70 °F (2 1 °C). Rainfall is confined to the winter months and averages only 3 inches (75 mm) per year, but this may vary from almost nothing to d )uble this amount. On a erage. rain falls onK aK ut 1 days a year. Sunshine is abundant year- nnind. The predominant w ind is the damp, northwesterls sluimal: the qcnw. a hot. dr . and dust south ind. is less frequent and brings sand. dust, and low humidit) . The population is more than four-fifths Muslim and includes both the Sunnite and Shj ' ite sects, w ith the latter in the majority. The ruling family and man of the ealthier and more influential Bahrainis are Sunnite. and this difference has been an underlying cause of Kval tension, particular!) during the Iran-Iraq war in the l9S()s and in the h XK. Arabic is the official language of Bahrain, but English is w idely used. Farsi is also common, although it is mostly spoken in the home. In spite of its rapid economic development. Bahrain remains, in many re ' spects. essentially Arab in its culture. The slate television and radio stations broadcast most programs in Arabic. alth»)ugh there arc channels in English. Football (soccer) is the most popular nKxlem sport, while traditional pastimes such as falconry and ga elle and hare hunting arc still practiced by wealthier Bahraini ;. Horse and camel racing are p »pular public entertainments. The emir, w ho is chief of state, is assisted by a cabinet, or council of ministers, w hich consists of the heads of various government departments: many of the ministers arc members of the niyal family. A constitution promulgated in 1973 crcated a National Assembly composed of members of the cabinet and elected members who werc elected by popular ( te. but after a peritxl of labour unrest and political agitation the assembly was dissolved by the emir in 1975. Public representation re ertcd to the traditional .Arab and Islamic system of a nuijlls (council ). through which citizens and other residents may present petitions o the emir In I W3 the emir created a . O-member consultative advisory council (incrcascd to 40 in 1996); members serve four-year temis and are ' appointed by the emir. Political parties are forbidden. 70 USS Hue Ciiv (CG-66)