This morning after a good night's sleep, I contacted the Bahrain Embassy to confirm the time I was expected there. I got to the Embassy well before the scheduled time, and was welcomed first by Yusuf Jameel, deputy head of the Bahrain mission, and then by the rest of the staff.

Rebecca interviewed Mr Jameel, who spoke about the importance of the tour in promoting Bahrain and friendship between the many nations we visited. He also spoke about the special relationship that Bahrain has with Britain, which goes back a long time.

Then the guests started to arrive, among them high ranking diplomats from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

With this, the Friendship Arabia tour is officially complete, and what better place to finish the tour than our embassy in London! All the staff of the embassy made us feel right at home.

Though the tour is officially complete, I will be visiting two more destinations before my return - Scotland and Ireland.

Over the weekend, I will be planning my dates for the return to Bahrain.

It has been a wonderful, if exhausting, drive from the Middle East to Europe. It has been great being able to reach out to so many people, both in person as well as through the media, and tell them about Bahrain and everything it stands for. The tour has succeeded not only in promoting Bahrain but also in dispelling many wrong notions some people have about the Middle East.

I can only hope that the Friendship Tour goes some way in promoting greater awareness and understanding between people of different cultures and religions.

I would like to say a big thank you to our sponsors, without whose support the Friendship Tour would never have moved even into second gear.

Special thanks to Archie D'Cruz for his help not just in putting together this website and updating it daily, but also with all the books we produce to promote Bahrain.

A great big thank you too to all the members of the team who joined me on the tour (view their profiles on The Team page). Each one of you has contributed tremendously in promoting Bahrain and the friendship mission of the tour.

Finally, I must thank all our readers, especially everyone who sent us emails and text messages of support. Look for information on an exhibition as well as a book about the Friendship Tour in due course.

In the meantime, for everyone interested in learning more about Bahrain, please visit our website for visitors and expatriates, www.bahrainguide.org.

Ali Mushaima