Gulf youth shop for love in Bahrain's malls

By Mohammed Abbas

MANAMA (Reuters Life!) - It's Thursday night and Bahrain's biggest mall is heaving with people, but not all are doing the kind of shopping that requires bags or a receipt.

Immaculately groomed packs of young men in tight designer clothes eye groups of young women caked in make-up and smothered in perfume, the two sides skirting tantalizingly close to flouting a regional taboo against meeting before wedlock.

Every weekend thousands of young men and women flock from around the Gulf to Bahrain, one of the Muslim region's most relaxed countries, prowling its malls for romance.

"The mall is the best place to meet girls. Firstly, we watch, they watch, I smile, they smile, then I go to her and give her my number," said 22 year-old Nasser Saleh, who was standing near the Seef Mall cinema, a popular meeting place.

"You have to be careful of their family. If they turn up I get out of there quick."

Unchaperoned meetings between unrelated men and women before marriage is frowned upon in Gulf society, and in neighboring Saudi Arabia special religious police arrest transgressors.

Gulf nationals rarely venture outdoors given the region's dust and heat, so the mall is one of the few places to see people out on foot.

Entrance is free, there are no age restrictions, they are usually open late and, given their often vast size, there are plenty of opportunities to lose family and friends for an illicit chat with a possible love interest.

"I've met so many girls here. I should really approach them, but I've never had to. They come to me," said 22 year-old Ali Ibrahim, grinning at a passing girl, who smiled shyly.

"Even if they're with their family. I give her a look, and she gets up and leaves them."

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

Ali was dressed in tight jeans and a shirt with several buttons undone, his hair slicked back and set to perfection with copious amounts of gel.

Like many others, he had dressed in his best clothes and visited the salon, preparing for the mall "as if it was Eid", he said, referring to the religious holidays, when it is customary to look your best.

Groups of young men and women complete several circuits of the mall, slowing down and looking backwards as they pass each other, or otherwise take up positions at strategic points ideal for ogling passers by.

In the coffee shops, customers scan their mobile phones for Bluetooth radio connections from phones nearby, through which invitations for a tryst are quick and easy.