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August 30th, 2026
Daily puzzle · Medium · Standard map
Theme: Historic Pearl Diving Ports
Long before oil, the Gulf's wealth came from pearl banks worked by generations of free-divers, and Manama and Doha grew rich as trading hubs for the gems. Far to the east, Broome's harbour was built almost entirely on the pearling boom of the late 1800s, drawing divers from across Asia. In Japan, Toba became the birthplace of cultured pearls when Kokichi Mikimoto perfected the technique in its bay. On India's southeastern coast, Tuticorin's ancient pearl fishery was renowned even in Roman times, linking it to a trade that stretched across oceans.
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Manama, BahrainBahrain's capital sits on an island once famed for the finest natural pearls in the world.
2
Broome, AustraliaThis remote Western Australian town boomed in the 1880s as a global center of pearl shell diving.
3
Doha, QatarBefore natural gas, Doha's economy depended heavily on the pearling fleets that sailed the Gulf.
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Toba, JapanThis coastal city is where Kokichi Mikimoto pioneered the world's first cultured pearls in the 1890s.
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Tuticorin, IndiaThis ancient port on the Gulf of Mannar was celebrated for its pearl fisheries since antiquity.