Nine-day holiday for Bahrainis

Manama: Public sector employees and students will remain away from the office and schools for nine days as Bahrain is getting ready for its longest holidays.

The nine-day holiday will start on Friday, the day before Eid Al Adha, and will end on January 6 with all ministries and government establishments and organisations remaining closed.

Government employees are usually given three days off for Eid, but a decision by the previous parliament added Arafat Day, the day when pilgrims stand on Mount Arafat in the suburbs of Makkah.

With the Bahraini law stipulating compensation for the off days that fall on Friday or Saturday, the public sector will also have Tuesday and Wednesday off on account of Arafat Day (Friday) and the first Eid day (Saturday).

The occurrence of New Year's Day on Monday, the third day of Eid, will result in a replacement on Thursday.

The perspective of the long holidays, although not officially announced yet, but calculated upon the announcement by Saudi Arabia that Eid would start on December 30, has made several Bahrainis re-think their plans and seek to book holidays in the neighbouring countries, with Dubai and Kuwait topping the list.

Egypt, in the absence of crisis-torn Lebanon, is also a favourite destination, according to travel agents.

Haj operators said that about 4,000 people have contacted them looking for extra seats to perform the pilgrimage, spurred by the fall of Arafat Day on Friday, a day of brilliant auspices for Muslims.

But the holiday fever will not reach the same peak among private sector employees who will not have the day compensation benefits and will resume work on Tuesday, immediately after the Eid.

Calls to include them in the day replacement law have been resisted by the business community under the argument that Bahrain residents already enjoy too many holidays and any extension would be detrimental to the country's economy.