BAHRAIN

By the time we reached Bahrain, an island connected to Saudi Arabia by a 30-mile bridge, our best opportunities to experience traditional Arabian life had been in Muscat, Oman, where we toured the newish Grand Mosque (among the world's largest) and the grounds of the Sultan's Palace; and the emirate of Fujairah, where we toured the pool at the Fujairah Hilton and the burqa aisle of a local hypermarket. (OK, so not all stops on the cruise are ready for prime time.)

But in Bahrain, past the ultramodern skyscrapers taken from science fiction, and past the stately mosque next to a Kentucky Fried Chicken, is the Manama Souq. Inside the warren of alleys and narrow passages, there's a point beyond the tourist zone where souvenir hats and toy camel-riding guitar-playing sheikhs give way to abayas (women's robes) and cookware, and where the smell of the McDonalds gives way to the spice vendors' cardamom and curry. Turn right and there's a Bahraini coffee shop, extraordinary only by the fact that it doesn't actually offer coffee.

In more traditional parts of the Arabian world, the coffee shop is little more than a collection of mismatched tables and benches in an alleyway or sidewalk, and a kitchen the size of a walk-in closet. When I found one in the souk, I waited until the crowd of sheyba (venerable men) thinned out before approaching. An older man in gleaming white dishdasha dress and traditional red-white-checked shumagg (head covering with the outer black bands) saw my hesitance and waved. ``My friend, come. Sit down.''

His name was Jawal and he confessed that when he's not at home, he's at that coffee shop, talking and drinking tea. We chatted in stunted English about the weather, coffee houses, his family and our home towns.

``You like Bahrain?''

I told him I did.

``Bahraini, they are nice, no?''

I agreed.

``Kuwaiti, Iraqi, Saudi -- they are not so nice. Too much fire. What for you need so much fire?''

I assumed he was talking about religious and political fervor in more conservative societies and I gave a noncommittal nod. It was not my place to agree too heartily.

I was as far as I could get from home, but not as far as I expected culturally. Men gathering to hang out, talk and drink: It was a nonalcoholic version of the corner bar. This is a ritual, I figured, that I could get behind.

By the time Jawal excused himself, wished me ''al-salaam alaykum'' (peace), the other benches had filled with men in dishdashas. Most were looking at me, not as a threat or an enemy, it seemed, but as a curiosity.

Tourists, one man said, do not take the time to sit and relax over a glass of tea.

Maybe they have too much fire, I said, and took another sip.

The Costa Victoria and Costa Classica will run weeklong roundtrips out of Dubai, described in the story, from mid-December into early spring, with staterooms for the December cruises starting at $999 per person double occupancy. Info: Costa Cruises, 877-882-6782 or www.costacruise.com.

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