Foreign Correspondent: April 13

Foreign Correspondent this week profiles Bahrain as the nation looks to reinvent itself as liberal oasis in the Persian Gulf.

Every weekend in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, thousands of young Saudis flock to the city to party. Here they can do things that would be utterly forbidden just over the “Johnny Walker” bridge.

This week Foreign Correspondent takes you to a place in the Middle East that few people know exists. Bahrain wants to be a liberal oasis in a conservative region and its selling that image to the world to attract tourists and real estate investors to the smallest country in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain is reinventing itself now because its rich oil reserves are beginning to run out and it needs ways to diversify the economy. From the nightclubs to the luxury car garages of the super-rich, this story shows the “modern” Bahrain and contrasts it with those who are trying to preserve a more traditional way of life.

8pm Thursday on ABC.