National Day Madness

So, Kuwait's National Day is here and even Google knows it:


(Google, 25 February 2010 - in the colors of the Kuwaiti flag and the 'e' in the shape of Kuwait)

National Day means many Kuwaitis decorating their cars in the colors of the flag (black, red, white, and green), with pictures of the royal family, the shape of Kuwait or anything showing patriotism and love to their country and appreciation of their twice-won freedom:


(Car decorated with the Kuwaiti flag and pictures of the Royal Family)


(Car decorated with hearts in the colors of the Kuwaiti flag)


(A mustang that has it all: the royal family on the back window, the shape of Kuwait above the back wheel, the numbers 25 and 26 indicating February 25 (National Day) and 26 (Liberation Day), the colors of the flag and - last but not least - Louis Vuitton logos in the colors of the flag...)

Apparently there used to be parades and processions through the city with music and all but they were suspended following the Gulf War in honor of the martyrs and the prisoners of war whose fate have not yet been revealed and are still listed as missing.

Instead, another trend has escalated through the years to a complete madness: kids and teenagers spraying foam at cars!

They started already yesterday - dressed in special clothes for the occasion and armed with foam cans and 'super soakers':


(Kids yesterday waiting for cars to pass by that they can spray water and foam on - notice how their maids are standing to the left ready to wipe the kids with towels, while the mothers observe in safe distance in the back...)

As soon as a car drove by, it got sprayed:



Things did not get too much out of control yesterday - especially since the police was very present. Spraying the cars is illegal except for the 25th and 26th so they were handing out a lot of fines... Didn't seem to stop many people though, and the partying continued into the late evening with cars blocking the Gulf Road, people playing music, singing, shouting and hanging out of their cars:


(Cars blocking the Gulf Road heading into Salmiya, Feb 24)

It was close to midnight before the police - using roadblocks - managed to disperse the traffic.

Today they were at it again and it seems that whoever ventured out had it coming... A (very) few adults, however, managed to make the kids too scared to spray them - like this man who raised his finger at the kids and did not get sprayed:


(One lucky man avoiding the foam)

And the more obvious exception:


(A police car not getting sprayed...)

But everybody else could do nothing but try and keep the windows closed:


(Young boys and a teenager spraying a car with foam)

Even the narrowest opening in a window is enough:



And apparently it's not enough to just stand on the road and spray the cars - if you can get onto them it's even better:


(Teenager on the hood of a moving car spraying its windscreen)


(Boys clinging to a 4x4 and one sitting on top - a vantage point for spraying at others as well)

Some kids had engaged their parents to help them out in the fight - like these two boys who are firing their water guns through the sun roof of their parents' car:



On National Day no one should feel safe - including this poor delivery guy on a scooter who had to go to the nearby hotel and deliver something (and this is the only road leading to the hotel):



...He made a narrow escape with minimal damage:



There a few rules to follow on National Day if one cannot avoid to drive - whatever you do, keep your windows closed and your doors locked! This delivery van had forgotten to lock the back door as these kids are soon to find out:


(Kids foaming a delivery van - after lifting the windscreen wipers so that the poor guy inside has no chance of wiping away the foam)


(The kids realize that he has forgotten to lock the back door and his delivery gets sprayed...)

A private car forgot to lock its side door and the kids - who pull all door handles even on moving cars - soon found out and completely sprayed the people inside and the interior:



What looks like a celebrity arriving is what happens when the kids quickly find out that there is an opportunity to empty their cans inside the car - the national television was on the spot as well filming:



One of the reasons this foaming thing escalates is that many car owners have had enough and have started to fight back:


(Fighting back: kids getting sprayed from inside the car)


(Fighting back from inside the car with a can of foam)


(Fighting back with a super soaker water gun)


(Fighting back with foam)

After a while it had become trivial to spray the cars and the kids turned on each other instead:


(Local girl covered in foam - courtesy of her brother)

...And even some of the adults got involved:


(Local man with a spray can in his hand)

Some of the younger kids got brave and sprayed the older boys:



...which led to some serious revenge:



The resulting fighting included many combinations of 'young against the older', 'boys against the girls', and 'everybody against everybody':



You really should click to enlarge this one (below): superman boy sprays the girl in red stripes, the older boy with the wig sprays the red striped girl from behind while he is himself being sprayed by another older boy, the two to the left spray into the crowd and the boy in the bottom of the pic is rushing in on his roller blades with a spray can in his hand:



In Kuwait, teenage boys and girls have very few chances of interacting with each other as it is considered inappropriate. When the rare opportunity to interact presents itself, they go all in - whether completely foaming this girl is going to make a positive impression on her, I don't know but for sure they got some interaction:


(Local girl looking like a snowman as the boys ganged up on her)


(Younger boys against teenage boys)


(Local girl covered in beige foam)

One boy was clever, though and decided to sell his cans as he saw the mayhem and resulting lack of full cans. I'm sure he got a good price - and it only took him a minute to find a box and a quiet corner to sit:


(Boy selling foam cans)


(Empty cans left on the beach)


(An elderly gentleman videotaping the madness)

After all the action we went to the nearby beach where there had been several attempts during the week to fly the biggest ever Kuwaiti flag. The dust, sand and strong winds made it impossible but the flag was still lying there spread out:



And then a well-deserved watermelon mojito - non-alcoholic, of course. Unlike places like Dubai, no hotels and no restaurants here have liquor licenses (not even for foreigners). It was still yummy, though. We had bought a few Kuwaiti flags that we carried in our camera bag - it seemed to be appreciated and we got a few remarks from people asking if we liked Kuwait. And we do!



We were asked a couple of times during the day to give a short interview to national television - about how we experienced the day, our opinion about Kuwait etc. but we politely declined - we are not quite ready to be 'local celebrities' yet :-) Apparently they thought it was fun that we were observing the foam fights - most foreigners (at least European and North American) either travel out of the country, stay at home or go to one of the resorts further down the coast to spend some quiet family time. We figured we have to experience the National Day at least once - how can you ever understand a country if you do not?


(Local boy and his grandfather being interviewed for television)


(Young girl celebrating National Day)

This is as close as you will ever get to snow in Kuwait :-) :



The celebrations continued well into the night as kids, teenagers and probably a few adults stood all along the Gulf Road and sprayed the cars:


(Traffic on the Gulf Road at a standstill (towards Kuwait Towers))

Police had a busy day - not least because some celebrators seemed to not understand the limit: there were reports of kids filling their super soakers with tomato sauce and others spraying hair removal cream instead of foam!! All in all, though, it was a fun day!

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...

Spring Cleaning

This is what we woke up to today and it has lasted all day so far - it's not a real sand storm but rather dust filling the air. Well, I guess it still comes from the desert but it does not give that crunchy sand feel in the teeth. It's more like clearing out an attic or something no one has cleaned for ages and the dust comes at you - the eyes go dry and the nose tickles. Quite unpleasant but still better than a real full blown sand storm, I guess...

(Picture above: view from our balcony this morning)

No Sun On The Balcony, Sir

Weekend automatically means apartment hunting and we've been looking for apartments ever since we arrived.

The way it seems to be done here is to simply pass by a suitably looking apartment building in an area where you want to live - walk in and ask the security guard if there are any free apartments. One of 3 things will then happen 1) a straight 'NO' (which is either the truth or a common answer if he does not speak English) 2) a phone number to the building manager will be handed out or 3) he will show you the apartments that are available. Since most buildings have 24-hour security this can be done at most times of the day.

It's not that there aren't any real estate agents here - there are - but it seems that the majority of them are very fragmented. Either they are connected to say 7 buildings and cannot show you anything beside their own buildings (buildings are of course owned by some behind the scene Kuwaiti who hires the agency to handle daily business for him). Another option is that they will claim to be independent but will actually only show you apartment buildings where they have a paid agreement with the owners of the building - that way you may think you have seen what is available in a specific area but in reality you have only seen the ones they are taking money from. Another challenge is that many of the agents are limited to one geographical area/neighborhood - and we are still not sure which area we want to live in and would therefore like to be able to compare across areas. Add to that that there have apparently been some scams where dishonest agents have made apartment seekers sign a contract with them (when in fact it should be signed with the owner of the house) and run away with deposit, first month's rent and service fee.

With all that being said, the agents' services do not come cheap either - they typically charge a month's rent for finding an apartment that you could just as easily (or just as difficultly) have found yourself (and a month's rent here is quite a lot of money).

So back to 'do-it-yourself'.

I actually don't mind apartment hunting - so far it has taken us to some areas where we would otherwise have had no reason to go. Occasionally we spot a nice restaurant or café in between the apartment buildings and slowly it helps in understanding the construction of Kuwait City and its different neighborhoods. In other words, the more we walk around the more it starts to feel familiar - and if you've read the post about how difficult it is to find your way around you'll appreciate that getting to know the city is invaluable.

So far we have seen some really nice places (that are waaaay out of budget - I mean about 10 times what we pay for our apartment back home), some really crappy places (hey, good thing is you don't have to worry about water leaks - they already happened!) and then some in between places that have not really impressed.

One challenge is that we would like to find something furnished since we really do not want to move our own furniture here (which includes one of us going back home to arrange it, waiting 8 weeks for it to ship here and then dealing with a considerable amount of paper work and customs to actually get it released). Furnished apartments are considerably more expensive (I mean beyond the cost of the furniture in the apartment) and often the furniture is of dubious quality. The past week, though, we've been playing with the thought of getting something unfurnished and just putting in some basic things from IKEA and some Arab things like the diwaniya (a sofa-like furniture along the wall - can be as long as the entire length of a room) and some lamps out of Aladdin. We think it might be fun :-)

Apart from that there are things to look out for that we aren't too used to (although apartment hunting in China had some of the same elements): is the air-condition powerful enough to cool down the entire apartment when it's suddenly 50 degrees Celcius (122 F) outside? And can it also heat in the winter when temperatures can drop below 0 degrees (32 F)? Is electricity included in the rent (it takes a lot to cool down an apartment!!). Many apartments do not have balconies - it seems the locals find it too cold to use them in the winter and too warm in the summer - which is why it would anyway only be used for storage and thus is not worth building. A few do, though (and I would love to have one!), and they make a big deal out of explaining how little sun there is on the balcony! That is completely the opposite of what we are used to - especially being from the dark and winter depressing north - the more light the better and definitely afternoon sun on the balcony! But I guess we still cannot begin to imagine what having sun on the balcony in 50 degrees would mean. Apart from that, underground (or at least indoor) parking is a great plus - some people have bought nice looking cars with black leather interior just to find that if you park it outside (shaded of course) during summer you will not be able to sit in it without burning yourself. People are using white cloths and screen covers to be able to sit in their nice looking cars :-). We are also carefully looking at the windows as many are of bad quality. Partly it's to keep out the heavy traffic noise as well as to minimize the volume of the mosque calling 5 times a day and partly it's because sand storms are common here and it's nice if most of the sand stays outside...

Another thing I've learned from this apartment hunting is that the question 'where are you from?' does not refer to the country you were born in or lived in before. Where you are from matters little in a country where all nationalities seem to be represented and foreigners come and go. It means 'what company do you work for?' which in this family/clan based country is equal to asking 'what family do you work for?' They ask because they want to know 'where you belong' but more importantly because they are trying to figure out how high they should set the asking price for the apartment - heavy haggling over the price is part of everyday life here, also when it comes to apartments.

I follow a blog written by a local woman and apparently it is not uncommon among her friends that if the security guard says 'no', one solution is to pay him some money, take his phone number and make sure to call him regularly to hear if anyone is moving out - and to make sure you are the first one to know (i.e. remind him of the considerable amount of money you paid him). Even bringing cakes and sweets (in addition to the money) seems to be part of the game. Maybe that explains why some of the security guards have looked quite surprised when upon a 'no' we have just said 'thank you', wished them a nice day and walked out...

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...