The Grand Mosque of Kuwait

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to get a (free) guided morning tour of the Grand Mosque of Kuwait (arranged by the AWARE Center where I am also taking Arabic classes). The mosque really lives up to its name - not only is it grand it is also very beautiful. In all honesty I did not hear all of what was being said as I was busy taking photographs but you can read more about the mosque at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mosque_%28Kuwait%29

The Main Prayer Hall is gigantic and can accommodate up to 10,000 men for prayer. The women pray on the first floor (behind the brown wooden shades at the back of the picture below):


(Main Prayer Hall, Grand Mosque of Kuwait)

The Main Prayer Hall is so full of details - in the ceiling, on the walls, everywhere:


(Main Prayer Hall, Grand Mosque of Kuwait)

A lady from the AWARE Center - who has herself converted to Islam - explains about the Grand Mosque while a family listens:


(A family listening at the Grand Mosque of Kuwait)

At the center of the Main Prayer Hall there is a huge cupola in the ceiling:


(Main Prayer Hall, cupola)

If you lie down on the soft blue striped carpet (I was not misbehaving - we were encouraged to do so) you get this picture of the cupola:


(Main Prayer Hall, cupola)

I've only been to mosques in Turkey/Istanbul and in Tunisia and Egypt, where it was perfectly fine if as a woman you cover your hair appropriately and of course remove your shoes before entering. I was explained that the reason for this is that those countries see so many western tourists that it would be difficult to enforce much more than wearing a veil to cover the hair.

In Kuwait, however, almost all tourists visit friends or family members living here (whether western or Arab) and very few people visit the country purely for its touristic attractions (as there aren't too many). For this reason - i.e. because it is possible - they enforce that women in addition to covering their hair should wear the abbaya (the black rope/long coat) that can be borrowed.


(Me, wearing a veil and an abbaya, admiring the Main Prayer Hall)

Along the walls there are Qur'ans on display - however they can only be touched by those who have performed the Muslim washing ritual (ablution) prior to entering (and are thus not unclean). They looked beautiful, though ;


(Qur'ans on reading shelves along the sides of the mosque)

They are beautifully bound and the bookshelves have been polished so that the golden writing reflects on the surface:


(Qur'ans on a shelf, Main Prayer Hall)

And they come in green/blue as well:


(Qur'ans on a shelf, Main Prayer Hall)

There was an Arab man who joined us for the tour - he could have been local but it seems more likely that he was from the region. I got this great shot of him inside the Main Prayer Hall just as he was standing on the lines in the carpet indicating where the men should stand (making it easier to fill the mosque quickly and avoid people being 'out of line'):


(On the line, Main Prayer Hall)

It was also fun to watch the western children all dressed up in clothes borrowed from the mosque:


(Western kids in borrowed clothes, well-behaved and listening to the 1.5 hour presentation about the mosque)

The boy was particularly cute - I think he was American:


(Western boy listening, Main Prayer Hall)

Judging from the look on the older girl's face she was either getting bored of listening to the long presentation or getting tired of wearing the clothes:


(Western girl getting impatient, Main Prayer Hall)

This nice elderly gentleman was accompanying us on the tour (affiliated with the mosque) and I overheard him say that he had once driven half-way across the world - he was speaking Russian to a man in our group from Bulgaria and talking fondly of memories from Sofia. His English was perfect too and I am sure he knew more...



We were fortunate enough to get to see the special side room next to the Main Prayer Hall that is reserved for when the Emir comes to the Grand Mosque (a few times yearly on special occasions or when accompanying foreign heads of state):


(Part of the wall in the Emir's room)

The details are amazing and your eye keeps finding new patterns and colors.


(Crystal lamps in the Emir's room)

Everything has been carved out by the best specialists (I believe from Morocco):


(Details from the wall decorations, Emir's room)


(Details from the wall decorations, Emir's room)

Even the ceiling isn't just flat:


(Detail from the ceiling, Emir's room)


(Detail from the ceiling, Emir's room)

Back in the Main Prayer Hall we had some more time to look at details. You would have thought that with all the expensive materials and foreign labor used for building this mosque they could have found a more beautiful clock than this 'train station clock' - but maybe they like it:


(Clock, Main Prayer Hall)

The carvings next to it are really beautiful, though:


(Wall carvings, Main Prayer Hall)


(Close up of wall carvings, Main Prayer Hall)

Even the lamps are beautiful:


(Lamp, Main Prayer Hall)

Some more details:


(Pillar, Main Prayer Hall)


(Inscription, Main Prayer Hall)


(Wall mosaic, Main Prayer Hall)

Back out again we were hit by the strong sun light - but it's still possible to see that behind the lamp is a modern glass and steel office building:



(Lamp outside the mosque - on the backdrop of an office building in Kuwait's financial district)


(One of the exits - facing the Gulf)

It seems there are lamps everywhere - these are from close to the exit:



It was a really nice opportunity to see the Grand Mosque and understand a little more of Islam and some of its rituals - and actually I have never felt so relaxed, welcome and comfortable in a mosque before (or even in a Christian church for that matter). I think we'll be back...