It's Just Like Wine

We were shopping for food last Saturday in a supermarket we don't usually go to but it was walking distance from the Arab Fund Building we had just visited. Based on the assortment it seemed to cater heavily to locals/Arabs and the Indian population here (huge spice section is always a give-away).

I wanted to cook an Arabic rice dish I have learned at a cooking course here and was looking for basmati rice... They must have had 50 different brands and kinds to choose from!

K was at one end of the isle reading the backside of bags trying to make some sense of it all and I was at the other end of the isle trying to peek through the packages to see if the rice was nice and long.

There was a Kuwaiti man - clad in the traditional dishdasha (long white robe-like shirt and his head covered as men in the Gulf traditionally do - see picture below) - standing not far from me also looking at the different rice - it must have been quite obvious to him that I was lost as I had kept going back and forth looking at the different bags. He then approached me - something that is not very common here due to the separation of the sexes and not least because my husband was there - and very kindly told me: "Take this one - it's like wine!" A bit baffled I didn't understand his reference to wine and wasn't sure if he was trying to make fun of me - mind you Kuwait is a dry country where alcohol is forbidden and not often referred to in public. Not sure if he had meant that that particular brand of rice was nice, I asked him "Is that one good?". He then pointed again and I now saw that the brown sack it was packed in had 'crop year 2006' printed on it - "just like wine" he repeated. I then understood - something I have never known before being from a potato-eating culture - that rice somehow matures and is thus considered better the older it is (to a certain limit, I am sure). I thanked him for his advice and he quickly moved away so as not to be inappropriate.

I don't know how much he knew about wine himself - a considerable part of the Kuwaitis have lived abroad and some feel equally at home in the Western lifestyle - but it was nice of him to help out (rightly knowing that I would not be offended by his approach) and nice of him to pick an analogy he was sure someone of my skin color (and implied religion) would surely understand....


(Men dressed in the traditional wear of the Gulf region - not sure what these men are so cheerful about, though. Usually they have a more stern look - hidden behind big reflecting sunglasses...)

Source: http://www.khaleejesque.com/custom/thobe7.jpg

The Arab Fund Building

On Saturday (24 April) morning we were fortunate to get a chance to see the Arab Organizations Headquarters that are located here in Kuwait (known locally as the Arab Fund Building) on a 2-hour guided tour. It was my second time there as a friend of mine had been kind enough to invite me along when her parents were visiting and she had managed to arrange a tour (most of the pictures are from this visit in March). It is so beautiful that I didn't mind seeing it a second time and I was happy K got the chance to see it as well - to me it beats any museum!

The building is a working office and as such is closed to the public - but with the right connections it's possible to arrange group tours. It houses the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Cooperation, and the Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company for the 22 Arab nations.

From the outside the building doesn't look like much - but what's inside is truly amazing (although pictures don't do it justice).


(Arab Organizations Headquarters, Shuwaikh area, Kuwait)

The main entrance has two 1 ton heavy doors made of walnut tree in beautiful geometric patterns - made without glue but clicked together like an advanced puzzle allowing for the pieces to change size and shift slightly depending on the temperature:


(Main entrance)

One the first tour the guide explained that this antique piece hanging on the granite wall over the guard at the reception comes from the Kabah in Mecca - the holiest of places for the Muslims:


(Reception area)

Straight across from the reception there is a water fountain of sorts - the water silently runs down the wall without making any noise. The mosaic is hand-made by the best specialists who keep track of the patterns in their head - no drawings are used for the patterns. It's actually laid upside down - the little pieces of colored tile (that have been hand 'chopped') are put on a flat surface with the color facing down (leaving only the same light brownish color visible on all the pieces) and when the pattern is done, cement is added on top to hold them in place before it is turned. It must be more difficult than doing a puzzle with your eyes closed...


(Mosaic fountain by the entrance)


(Arabic calligraphy in the reception area)

Even before you enter the real building it becomes obvious that there is a lot to expect. This is still the reception area - to the left are hidden doors leading into the library and straight ahead are (green) doors leading into some of the meeting rooms. Of course they did put any table in the reception area - they put one with subtle decorations of inlaid mother of pearl, matched in the chairs:


(Table and chairs in the reception area)

I have hundreds of pictures from the various rooms so I will show just some highlights - this one is from the library where this beautiful staircase leads to the second floor of the library. The chandelier was a present from the late king of Morocco and is antique (as are many things in this building). Apparently they had huge problems with the inlaid wood underneath the stairs (the pattern can be seen on the right hand side of the picture) - no wonder...


(Staircase in the library)

In the pre-function hall much of the decor is Moroccan. The extremely beautiful gypsum ceiling is hand-carved on the spot! 22 people were lying on scaffolding carving the ceiling...


(Hand-carved gypsum ceiling in the pre-function hall)

The conference hall is the largest of the meeting rooms in the building and the one used when leaders and dignitaries from the 22 Arab nations come together or foreign leaders come visit:


(The conference hall - with woven carpets displaying some of the most well-known buildings across the Arab world)

Quite cleverly the tables are built so that they can be disassembled and they are stored in cabinets taking up very little space. In a matter of 4 hours, the in-house maintenance people can completely change the entire layout of all the tables (including those in the many offices upstairs). Now that's clever.

Like in the rest of the building white marble from Italy is in abundance but the top piece - the one with holes in it that make it look like twinkling stars - is a real pride of the house. It is white marble, cut with extreme high-pressure water (I believe he said it had cost a quarter of a million US dollars). It allows for indirect light to come in - and according to the guide is also the reason more than one leader has been caught sleeping in the comfortable (and ergonomically correct) chairs...


(Conference hall - marble screen)

I see how the pictures don't do it much justice. The thing, though, that is impressive is not only what can be seen but rather what cannot be seen. Every little detail has been thought about - there are no light switches or air condition controls visible anywhere. Fire hoses are placed behind carved screens that are in themselves worthy of a place in a national museum. None of the air condition units make any noise whatsoever (courtesy of Siemens, Germany), there is no dust in the building (that is close to a miracle here!!), tons of money have been spent on excellent ergonomic furniture and the latest simultaneous translation equipment, fire detectors are built into the decorations and as many doors as possible are hidden behind woven carpets or wooden screens. Not to mention that the place is absolutely spotless!

This is not a case of 'oil-rich-person-orders-the-best-and-doesn't-care-what-it-costs'. The Chairman - the mastermind behind the building (with the help of 15 of the best engineers) has been involved in every step and cares about every detail, every piece of art and every piece of furniture that has been brought into the building and it is clear that without his strong vision this wouldn't have been possible.

I think I can say - without offending anyone - that attention to detail is not much of a concern in this part of the world (as a generalization, of course). Most things look OK on the surface but go have a look at the electrical installations (a bunch of wires falling out of a closet that is supposed to be able to close), the internet box or open a closet to see how it's put together and it very quickly becomes evident that not much importance is placed on aligning things - it's functionality over aesthetics. That is why it is so extraordinary to see a place like this where everything is in line - even when you look behind a door or under a table.


(Detail of a door)

Most of the meeting rooms have a name and specific origin and this one is referred to as the Syrian Room:


(The Syrian Room)

Different from the other rooms but with equal amounts of white marble and elaborate mosaic. I wouldn't mind attending a meeting here...


(The Syrian Room)


(The Syrian Room)

The Syrian details in the ceiling (hand-painted of course) are quite different from the colors and patterns we usually see in the Gulf:


(The Syrian Room)


(The Syrian Room)


(The Syrian Room)

And even the tables are extremely detailed with a mixture of Arabic calligraphy and geometric patterns:


(The Syrian Room)


(The Syrian Room - detail from the ceiling extending down the wall)

Next to the Syrian Room is another meeting room - the Tunisian Room:


(Wall mosaics in the Tunisian Room)

Everything is so highly polished that from the end of the impressive granite table there is an almost perfect reflection of 3 of the mosaics:


(Mosaics reflecting in the granite meeting table)

The images appear and re-appear in the room. The same image can be found in the wall mosaic, in the wall carvings and in one of the wooden screens used as decoration as well as to cover the windows (no curtains allowed - the light has to come in and transparency has to be stated).


(Consistency in images, Tunisian Room)

The screens are so beautiful - hand carved on both sides (not glued together afterward) they take a year to complete:


(Wooden carved screen, Tunisian Room)


(Wooden carved screen, Tunisian Room)

The guide (from my first trip there) was one of the proudest employees I have ever met - but what a pleasure. Here he was explaining how all the plants live in 'Hydroton' (small brown baked clay pellets) so that there is no soil in the building. They have hid part of the sound system under the plants and he proudly lifted an almost invisible lid (with Hydroton glued to it) to reveal this little secret - talk about details.


(Our guide revealing a secret lid in the Hydroton)

The last part of the lower floor:


(One of the exit doors)


(Mosaic fountain)

...And the staircase leading to the atrium and the offices above:



One of the employees involved in the construction of this building spent a year in Italy picking the finest white marble - and in line with the level of precision I described earlier, the line from the marble is aligned with the line in the glass, the hand rail and even the marble behind. I know it's hard to see on a picture but it's quite amazing. The heavy marble hand rail rests directly on the glass and was another challenge.

The stairs lead to the atrium on the first floor:


(The atrium with some of the offices and meeting rooms visible)

The atrium is also where the employee cafeteria is located:


(Atrium-level cafeteria, behind the glass is the top floor of the library)

There is an unbelievable amount of antique furniture standing around - most of it with inlaid mother of pearl:


(Detail from a chest with inlaid mother of pearl from the cafeteria)

The atrium is not only an impressive place because of the building's structure - it has an absolutely wonderful feel to it. The air is completely clean, there are green plants and lots of space and it is quiet except for the wonderful sound of birds singing. I'd love to work in a place like that!

Another really nice detail - there is direct sunlight coming in from only one of the sides of the atrium, which means that over time the trees would turn toward the light. Therefore, the trees can be rotated! Simply grab the stem and turn so that they will grow evenly (the bird got a bit scared when we tried...)


(Atrium, trees that can be rotated, white and black marble and birds singing)


(Atrium, antique sofa)

During the March visit we were there outside of the 5 daily prayer times and were therefore allowed to see the company prayer room as well:


(Arab Fund prayer room, mosaic glass windows, carved ceilings and beautiful carpet)

It really is an impressive room - and testament that nothing is done half-way in this building.


(Arab Fund prayer room, mosaic glass windows, carved ceilings and beautiful carpet)


(Detail from the ceiling of the prayer room)

From here we continued up to the 4th floor:


(Even the floor numbers by the lift are carved out of granite as well - talk about detail)


(Detail of the more modern ceiling on the 4th floor)

The atrium has an impressive 9-floor high mashrabiya:



The mashrabiya is a hand carved wooden screen that has traditionally been used to offer some privacy. This one is built of over 4 million pieces of hand-carved wood (again, no glue!) and thhe main feature - apart from its beauty - is that you can look outside from within it but you cannot look into it from the outside.

In my post about The Grand Mosque of Kuwait, the very first picture shows some wooden brown screens that the women pray behind on the first floor of the mosque so that they cannot be seen by the men - that's the same kind of mashrabiya.


(It's hard to see in a picture but from inside you can clearly look out - but not vice versa)


(The atrium seen from the 4th floor)


(The atrium seen from the 4th floor - daylight coming through the glass parts of the roof)

The 4th floor has a number of offices as well as some more meeting rooms.


(Mosaic fountain with little golden fishes spraying water - from the hall way, 4th floor)

This meeting room was designed by a local artist and is considerably more modern than the other meeting rooms. Although hard to see on the picture, the meeting table resembles a jungle - it's white marble with green marble leaves, butterflies and even a snake on the 'floor'. They joke about how in this meeting room nothing can be hidden under the table...


(Modern meeting room - 'jungle-style')

Next door to the modern meeting room - and in sharp contrast - is the Mamluk room, a real pride of the building (built in 12th Century Egyptian Mamluk style):


(The Mamluk room - the ceiling 'reflects' in the table, mashrabiyas cover the windows on the left)

The ceiling is carved oak and so full of details (plus it hides the air condition and other electrical installations)


(The Mamluk room)

The table is very detailed with inlaid patterns that are found also in the doors and even the door handles:


(The Mamluk room)

The Mamluk room also houses some antique art pieces and a collection of classical Arabic literature that has been bound in the finest leather:


(The Mamluk room)

Back out on the 4th floor hallway:


(Looking up at a massive brass 'chandelier')


(Reflections of our group (March) in the windows of 4th floor offices - with the Kuwait city skyline in the background)

From the 4th floor hallway there is a nice view of the Kuwait City skyline in the distance:


(Kuwait City skyline)

A chance is rarely missed to mark Kuwait's relationship with the sea - from the pre-oil pearl divers and fishermen that were then the backbone of the economy:


(Marking Kuwait's connection to the sea)


(View from the atrium of some offices on 6th floor and above)


(From the beautiful 4th floor reception area)


(Arabic calligraphy (paper) on the walls in the 4th floor reception area)


(Arabic calligraphy in the shape of a tiger on the wall in the 4th floor reception area)


(Reflections in yet another meeting room)

Our March guide was so eager to show us the parking area as well (as mentioned, he was really proud of the building) - particularly the air-cleaning system (the green channels in the ceiling). He told us how everyone has their individual parking space in order to avoid chaos and perhaps more importantly to be able to exercise control: if a car leaks oil, a piece of paper will be put under the car, the oil collected as evidence, the paper folded and the employee will then receive it in an envelope with a warning to get it fixed ASAP. If this is not done, the employee will be banned from parking in the inside parking lot (which is quite a severe punishment since the alternative is outdoor non-air conditioned parking!). Furthermore cars are only allowed to park with the front end facing the wall so as to avoid any exhaust fumes making the walls black. Talk about a consistent effort to preserve the building in its current excellent state!


(The basement parking area - a wonderfully clean place)


(Modern Arabic art in the lobby)

As I said at the beginning, to me this building beats any museum and it's a pity that a lot of people living in Kuwait do not know about it or make the effort to go and see it. I sure am happy that we did!