There Is Something In The Air...

Kuwait and the Kuwaitis are warming up for a double celebration next week: The National Day on February 25 and the Liberation Day on February 26.

The National Day celebrates Kuwait's independence from the British in 1961 when Kuwait declared itself a sovereign and independent state. Actually this was on 19 June 1961 but when the ruler Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem who was responsible for the independence (and much of the evolution of modern Kuwait) died in 1965, the National Day was changed to the 25th of February which was the day he had ascended the throne in 1950 - in order to honor him.

Liberation Day on February 26 marks the liberation from Iraqi occupation in 1991.

Those 2 days turn into a 4-day weekend of celebration and we have heard that people gather in the streets everyone wearing the colors of their national flag (or simply the flag itself) to celebrate two rounds of freedom, so to speak.

Already last Saturday the first decorations were up:


(A mural on the NBK (National Bank of Kuwait) building in downtown Kuwait across from the Grand Mosque - celebrating 49 years of independence from the British)


(A painter painting a heart-shaped Kuwaiti flag on the facade of a commercial building in Shuwaikh Free Trade Zone last Saturday)

On Friday evening the weather was relatively clear and we decided to go take some pictures of the preparations for National Day and Liberation Day.

This, though, is the view from our rooftop:



The Kuwait Towers are being given a fresh coat of white paint for the upcoming celebrations (2 out of 3 are done already). The biggest tower has a folded Kuwaiti flag hanging just under the big sphere - but not unfolded yet):


(Kuwait Towers getting ready to celebrate)

The Kuwait Towers are probably the best known landmark in Kuwait. They were heavily destroyed during the Iraqi occupation but the only sign left of that is a small photo exhibition inside the towers. The largest one (187m/613Ft above sea level) holds a revolving platform and some restaurants/cafés whereas the middle one is a water tank holding 1 million gallons (3.79 million litres) of water. The small tower controls the power to light up the two bigger towers:


(Kuwait Towers by night)


(Kuwait Towers by night - and the Kuwaiti flag waiting to be unfolded)


(Close-up of the mosaic on one of the spheres)

From close to the Kuwait Towers there is an excellent view of the coastline:


(Bneid Al Ghar coastline - with some apartment towers lit in green and red (and I guess the unlit part then counts for white))


(View of Kuwait City skyline from the coast - the tower to the far right is called Liberation Tower and is lit in red, white and green (although difficult to see) as is the office building on the far left - all in honor of the upcoming National Day and Liberation Day)

We also got a good look at this office building lit up in almost its entire height:



Of course we had to venture closer to see it:


(Night view from Dasman Square, central Kuwait)


(Up close - you can count the windows on the right hand side to get an idea of just how big the thing is)

Private families are also decorating their houses - some of them with over-sized flags covering the entire front of the house, others with light decorations and pictures of the ruling family. We haven't been able to take any pictures of that yet, but I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities, so stay tuned...

The Proof Is In The Certificate

So this morning I passed my 'Introductory Arabic' class with a score of 30 out of 30 (my teacher was in a good mood and decided not to deduct points from a small mistake I made in the shape of one letter) and here's the proof:


(My very first - but hopefully not last - Arabic certificate)

I actually like the front page better - with its Arabic calligraphy in golden letters - it makes it look really important! None of my university certificates have ever looked this nice...!



Unfortunately I am still very limited in my ability to speak Arabic - it does not go much beyond 'hello', 'goodbye', 'how are you?' and 'thank you' - but then again, those words do go a long way and every little effort seems to be appreciated here.

The bulk of the 10-hour class was spent on learning the Arabic alphabet - which is not optional but rather compulsory for moving on to the next levels. I do appreciate, though, that it is a big help to be able to read some Arabic (with time) especially since there is no official transcription of the Arabic language (unlike for example Chinese, where the pinyin system is a very strict system of transcribing Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet). In other words, if you want to be able to pronounce the words, you have to be able to read them in Arabic (attempts are of course made to write Arabic words using Latin letters but as there are no fixed rules everyone seems to have his/her way of doing that - making it even more confusing).

There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet - not such a big deal in itself - as long as you remember to write from right to left:

أ ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن هـ و ي

The trouble starts when the letters change shape according to their position in the word - one shape if it is the first letter in the word, one shape if it is in the middle and one shape if it is the last letter in a word. Add to that, that the shape again depends on whether the preceding letter is on that can be connected or not (there are 6 of the 28 letters that cannot be connected from the left). So in reality, for each of the 28 letters, I had to learn the following:

1) the name of the letter itself
2) the sound of the letter (not the same as its name)
3) to write the letter itself
4) to write the letter if it is first in the sentence
5) to write the letter if it is in the middle and the preceding letter can be connected
6) to write the letter if it is in the middle and the preceding letter cannot be connected
7) to write the letter if it is in the end and the preceding letter can be connected
8) to write the letter if it is in the end and the preceding letter cannot be connected

Our sofa table with the 28 letters lined up for practice:



And the worse part: the different shapes of the letters according to their position in the sentence:



Once that hurdle is passed, there are 5 different accents that can be added to each letter giving it one of 3 vowel sounds, no sound or an emphasis (like a double consonant) - or a vowel sound AND an emphasis together. You do the maths on how many combinations that gives you!!!

In terms of pronunciation, some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English whereas others are completely new to me - including those that originate in the throat or where part of the sound is to make a so-called 'glottal stop' in the throat - almost like the sound one would make if being strangulated. With practice, though, I think it will not be a big problem. What is more of a problem is that there are so many different dialects of Arabic being spoken. I am now learning classical Arabic - as should all Arabs in school - but what is being spoken on the street is often very different. Even within a small country as Kuwait, the Kuwaitis have their own dialect, the Egyptian guest workers another, the Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinian others and even the other Gulf states have their own ones.

In all honesty I have no intention of becoming fluent in Arabic - that would require a massive full-time effort. I do however want to be able to communicate on a basic level - especially since a great part of the decision to accept the job offer was the opportunity to travel in the region and experience the different countries and cultures of the Gulf and the Middle East. So far I have never lived in a country without attempting to learn at least a minimum of their language - just to be able to be polite if nothing more - and I don't see why I should do it any differently this time. I also firmly believe that in order to be able to better understand a culture it is necessary to understand its language.

Now for the fun part: I came across this webpage when trying to look for help on the alphabet. It really is quite funny - tell me if you can tell the different sounds apart? (The sound being ahead of the graphics certainly doesn't help...) Also, if you have the patience to watch it to the end (it's just a few minutes) that does give you a great vocabulary for everyday use :)))) (click the link below and don't forget to turn up your computer's volume).

Link

Day Out In The Desert

A Canadian lady I had meet at an exhibition on Saturday was really kind to invite me on a trip into the desert yesterday.

So, equipped with our cameras, she, her American husband, her Russian friend and I went to the Northeastern corner of Kuwait - close to Bubiyan Island and about as East as you are allowed to go.

(Map to the right: Bubiyan island is to the far Northeast - about an hour's drive from Kuwait City around the bay. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubiyan_Island)




(The bridge (closed to the public) to Bubiyan island)

Along the coast line there are mud flats, great for spotting mudskippers:


(The mud flats in Northeast Kuwait)

If you look closely you can see the eyes of a mudskipper in the middle foot print. You can click to enlarge the picture:



I had never seen a mudskipper before - it's an amphibious fish, which means that it acts like a fish in the water but it's able to come ashore and breathe like a 'land animal'. Talk about adapting to the environment! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudskipper)


(A mudskipper on its way home into the mud hole)


(The mudskipper up close - I almost got stuck in the mud but it was worth it :-))


(The late afternoon sun reflected in the ripples of mud)


(The mud slowly drying in the sun)


(Traces of life in the mud...)

Just a few minutes drive off the coast, the desert was full of early Spring flowers due to Winter rain:


(I don't know the name but these flowers come out of the sand - literally)


(Yellow Spring flowers amidst the desert sand)


(Dry roots sticking out of the sand)


(Flower coming out of the sand)


(Don't know the name of this one either but it definitely looks different than anything else I've seen)


(White desert flowers - almost like pearls on a string)


(The cycle of life - one is dead, one is blossoming and one is still waiting to blossom)


(More 'coming-out-of-the-sand' flowers)


(A ladybug covered in sand)

Failaka Island - The Sad And Eerie Part

History of Failaka Island dates back to 3000 BC and it was once a Greek settlement - the island was then known as Ikaros. There are still Greek ruins on the island but they are currently closed to the general public and cannot be visited without a ministerial permission.

What can be seen without permission though is some of the villages of Failaka:


(Village and fishing nets seen from a pier, Failaka)


(One of many mosques, and 4x4s just arrived with the car ferry, Failaka)


(A large, and seemingly new, mosque, Failaka)


(The local fire rescue, parked inside the Failaka Heritage Village)

Failaka Island used to be the home of some 5,000 or so people. However, during the 1990-1991 Gulf War these people were replaced to the mainland of Kuwait and apparently many have never returned. The island was heavily destroyed during the Gulf War and although some of it has been rebuilt, much hasn't.

We walked out of the neat and well-maintained heritage village and only a few steps outside we saw the destruction:


(A man on a bicycle in front of an abandoned house, Failaka)


(Abandoned and destroyed - the sand has blown in - apparently this house was a shooting target)


(Young women on a day trip to Failaka Island look at one of the abandoned buildings)

Just outside the heritage village there is also an abandoned shopping complex:


(A former shopping complex, Failaka)


(A 7Up case left in front of the destroyed shopping complex)


(The back side of a former shop - a newspaper is left on the ground, the wall paper still hanging)


(A former corner shop in front of abandoned residential houses. The glass is shattered and electrical wires hanging from the roof)


(A peek inside the former corner shop. The refrigerator displays are still standing there)

There is a very eerie feeling to the place. Right next to the former shopping complex there are a couple of rows of attached houses that are abandoned but still standing. The windows are shattered and front doors gone but the structures are not destroyed:


(Abandoned houses, Failaka)


(Abandoned house, the stem of a palm tree lying outside)

As the front doors are either missing or open, we could peek into some of the houses:


(Interior of abandoned house, shattered glass and broken tiles, and mattresses lying on the floor)

Looking up to the first floor windows:


(A window frame with the curtain rod still hanging. In the back ground the fixture from the ceiling lamp and bullet holes in the back wall)



(Another window frame with a Pepsi case)

As we walked onto the street of the second row of houses we spotted a school book lying on the street, the wind turning its pages. I doubt that the book has been there for the past 19 years since the Gulf War ended but maybe it blew out of one of the houses - or someone went in to get it but then left it in the street. In either case it was a very sobering moment:


(A book left in the street, the wind turning its pages)

Just as I walked up to take a closer look (and picture) of the book, the wind blew again and turned the page to reveal a photo in the book of a hand holding a fetus. It was such a surreal moment. When I got home and looked back at the pictures it gave me goose bumps.


(Book in the street, wind turning the page to a photo of a fetus)

The wind kept turning the pages (I never touched the book) and on one of the pages the owner had drawn flowers and other stuff with a red pen (I guess it's a universal thing to draw in school books, too) - on the left hand side something is written in Arabic followed by a 'Good luck!!!!' That was so surreal, too.


(Drawings in a school book - and a 'Good luck!!)

Not far from the school book, a smaller book in Arabic was lying in the dust. I didn't touch that one either but it was clear that the pages were stiff - as they become when they have been wet from rain and then dried again by the sun:


(Small book in Arabic lying in the dust in front of an abandoned house)

There were other things to be found on the ground - like this lonely shoe that looked more like it had been lying there for the past 19 years:


(A shoe left behind - it's not to be overly dramatic but when I first saw it, I thought it looked like a face with two closed eyes, a nose (the shoe lace) and a mouth (the opening)


(A broken piece of Lego with shattered glass)


(An empty bullet casing (next to the yellow flower) in front of a broken 7Up bottle outside a house)


(An empty bullet casing amidst broken glass from soda bottles)


(A rusty kid's bike on top of a pile of rubble)


(Close-up of bullet holes in a wall)


(A small palm tree growing inside an abandoned house)


(Elsewhere the houses are much more destroyed)

I know that there have been talks of building a luxury resort on the island of Failaka - a place for the people from Kuwait City to come for the weekend. Maybe that would be good for the island, I don't know, but I hope that somehow they don't just erase all signs of the war or the island as it used to be. Traces of the war are hard to find in Kuwait City and they say that even the desert towards Iraq has been cleaned up completely. Surely, it is great that Kuwait has moved on and put the war behind but I also think that it is sobering to be reminded of the past and take care it does not happen again in the future.