Mr. Ken’s Sunrise
Another expat with a view-to-die-for sent me some photos today I want to share with you. First, I want to share his description of what he went through to get the photos, LLOOOLLLL!
I had to open the window to take the pictures because they are, understandably, very dirty on the outside (12th floor apt). It was a little chilly so I had closed the window waiting for the sun to show. When it did, the lock and the window had jammed (from lack of use most likely) so I wasn’t able to take the last shot I wanted. Ironically, the lock on the window popped out about three hours later all on its own (probably solar heating).
Here is the first one – I just love the blue-ness of it!
Here are the next two:
He’s loaned his good camera to a friend, so he took these with his cell phone. Great photos, Ken! By the way, every now and then your building management probably schedules a team to wash your windows. They will come in one of those gondola like things. It usually happens the day before the next sandstorm. 😦
Bu Yousef: Fancy a Date? Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
Woo HOO, Bu Yousef! This is one great photo! I can almost taste the date, but even better – I love the gleam on the vendor’s face! More, please, Bu Yousef!
DaisyMae: Number 1 Entry in the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
DaisyMae is our first challenger, with recent photos from the souks. Woo Hoooo on you, DaisyMae! Thank you for showing us the markets through your eyes.
WHO is next? Is it YOU? 🙂
The Great Kuwait Market Magic Photo Challenge
OK my friends. You know how this works. There is no great prize, except the thrill of the hunt, and the sharing with those who share your passion. And before we go on, I want to give credit to Yousef, at Some Contrast who took some truly fabulous photos at the Souk Mubarakiyya last week and wrote up a delightful article about it.
Today, the Great Kuwait Market Magic Photo Challenge kicks off. I would limit it to Mubarakiyya, but if I did, I might miss the magic YOU see in the Sharq market, or one of the fish markets or . . .
The weather is gorgeous. The lighting is fabulous. Go forth and capture the magic of the market. Send your photo to me and I will publish it here. Or you can publish it on your blog and tell us in the comments section of this blog entry, if that is your preference. The deadline will be January 31st, and I will post a poll so we can all vote on our favorites.
WOO HOO on you, Kuwait photographers.
I have a thing about bread, so here is what inspired this post:
This man, in the Mubarakiyya food court near the mosque, makes fatayer that I think are to die for. You can sit outside in the warmth of the Kuwaiti morning, and sip a little tea with mint and one of these fatayer (we like halloumi and zatar) will more than take care of your morning treat. 🙂
For about one month of the year, being the man who puts the bread in the oven – it’s done by hand, for those of you who don’t live here – must be a joy. The rest of the year, I can’t begin to imagine . . .
This is a more modern oven, but it still looks like something out of Hansel and Gretel, doesn’t it? (Hansel and Gretel is one of many particularly gruesome “fairytales” children in the West are raised with. There are many horrifying tales – read the Grimm brothers. Wicked parents, wicked stepparents, a horror filled life for children.)
Back to the topic – go forth, Kuwait, and show us what you see in the markets!
Kuwait Moonlight Magic
I should have guessed when I saw all the fishing boats gathering last night as the sun went down. As the day went all pink and lavender, and then deeper purple, you could see their lights bobbing not too far off shore.
Minutes later I cam back and was stunned – the moon was up, full and glimmering over the Gulf. It was magical.
“AdventureMan! Come look!” I called, because it is a great sorrow in our lives that many a full moon we have been in different cities. I don’t know why it matters to us, but it does. He will call me and say “there is a full moon tonight in Djibuti and we are not together!” or I will SMS him saying “there is a full moon tonight in Seattle, where are you?” There are times he will say “At least we are both on the same continent” or “At least we are both in the same time zone!” but it is still sad that we are not together. It matters to us, so to watch this great bright silver orb rise over the waters was a moment to be treasured.
There were wisps of clouds in the sky, so the moon is not sharp edged, but a little blobby. Nevertheless, it is a full moon and we are together. A good night to celebrate.
Regional Crime
I know it is “crime” but this small article in today’s Al Watan made me smile. It is such a far cry from drugs, overdoses, knifings, rapes and abductions – smuggling nightingales. I don’t know why, it just makes me smile:
KUWAIT: Customs officers foiled an attempt that was made to smuggle 6 hawks and 55 nightingales coming from Iran in a wooden boat. Inspection supervisor, Khalid AlÙ€Failakawi said: “The birds were hidden in a secret compartment, and owner of the boat confessed that he tried to smuggle the birds in order to sell them in Kuwait. And he also does not have any legal or health documents regarding his concealed shipment.” The necessary legal actions are being taken against the man who attempted the smuggling.
Blue Skies, Old Ruins
Running about Kuwait, we stopped just to appreciate these ruins. You drive past them all the time, and it gets so you don’t even notice them. Today, the sky is SO blue, and the ruins are so beautiful, and who knows how long they will even be there?
I wish I could have seen this place in all its elegant splendor. You can see it must have been graceful. It looks like a lot of thought went into its construction. I wonder what it was – anyone know? It is near the Diabetes Clinic, near the British Embassy, near Dasman Circle.
I wanted you to see the beautiful arches and the elegant details against the brilliant blue sky before I show you the entire building, in context, with all the cars parked nearby, the towers in the background – it all somehow diminishes the building in context:
Wise Men Still Seek Him
“Oh! You’re putting your Christmas things away!” I noticed, as I was picking up my friend.
“No, no, not until after Epiphany!” she said. “Our tradition is to take down the tree when Epiphany is over.”
Tomorrow, January 6, is The Feast of Holy Epiphany and in celebration, I will post two more works of art I found to celebrate the wise men seeking the child by following a mysterious star. Many people are still looking for a scientific foundation for the Star of Wonder and if you click on the blue Star of Wonder it will take you to a very good discussion of some of the possibilities from BBC News.
I like this one because the Wise Men have on clothing that really looks Persian:
Here, in a painting by Murillo, they look, not surprisingly, Spanish/European, except for the African!
I wonder if in their travels, these wise men came through Kuwait?
Sunrise 30 December 2008
Good Morning, Kuwait!
There are tiny, fleecy clouds in the sky, nothing to speak of, no rain in sight. The scum on the horizon is diminished. It is going to be another gorgeous “winter” day in Kuwait. Light sweater weather – my favorite!
Christmas is all put away, and we are readying to welcome in the New Year. Happy New Year (already) to my friends who celebrated the Islamic New Year yesterday. May God richly bless you in the year to come.
(As I write that, I realize with a start that we don’t think the way God does. What if the economic crisis, our dwindling investments, the rising prices – what if these are all a part of God’s blessing, and we don’t see it? What if he is demonstrating that we can live more simply, more happily, with less? What if he is telling us we can be happy eating less, spending less, what if he is telling us our greatest blessings are family? good health? moderation? Hmmmmmmm. . . . . . )
Once In Royal David’s City
My absolute favorite of all the beautiful Christmas music:
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