Sunrise and Weep
This morning’s sunrise was unspectacular in that it is uniformly spectacular. Most sunrises here are spectacular; spectacular gets to be the standard (for sunrises) in Kuwait.
The translucent cloudy effect is not the fault of the sunrise, it is the result of the rain spots on my window.
Now, for my friends in Germany, in England, in Seattle and across the Winter Zone, here is what our week in Kuwait will look like – again, uniformly spectacular. The weather I love, light sweater weather, weather that makes you want to get outside and walk or run or drive!
If you have ever wanted to visit Kuwait, February is the month. 🙂
Vote Now! The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
We had some thoroughly splendid contributions to one of my favorite challenges of all, the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge.
Here are the challengers – please visit their photos before you vote:
DaisyMae
Bu Yousef
ShoSho
TeaGirl
Fewer entries – but every entry a gem. This is going to be a very difficult vote.
Thank you to our great photographer-participants. Your photos were truly Market Magic. 🙂 It was a thrill for me to see each and every one.
Whatever Floats Your Boat
Actually, I hate that phrase, but today it fits. I looked out the window and laughed – there is a tanker, floating above the horizon. At first, I almost thought it was a balloon. Look! See for yourself:
The day is so clear, I can see the tin roofs on Failaika Island with my bare eye. It isn’t much, but it is the clearest day in a long time:
In today’s Kuwait Times, Dr. Saleh al-Ajeeri tells us that the chances of rainfall are going away because the winds are changing, and that the temperatures are going to fall again. It’s hard for me to believe, on a day like today, warm and sunny and not a cloud in the sky, it’s hard to believe it is going to be cold. Dr. Al-Ajeeri says “The winter season is still going on and the cold will return during a season locally known as the ‘Scorpion’s Cold'” and that we can’t count on higher temperatures until the end of February.
SCORPION’S COLD?? OK, my Kuwaiti friends, I have never heard of that before. Can anyone explain to me what this is? And what it it called in Arabic?
Tanker Sunrise
I can tell when the air is bad in Kuwait. I wheeze a little when I am lying down, and I wake up with a small headache. It’s such a shame – the weather is so beautiful, I want to go outside and breathe deeply. I have a feeling that might not be such a good idea.
It looks like another beautiful day in the most beautiful month in Kuwait:
As for the title, if you look at the photo closely, near the horizon you can see all the oil tankers lining up to get into the . . . um. . . er. . . tanker place.
Bright, Shiny Day
The clouds are gone, and it is looking like a beautiful day in Kuwait. With the schools out for winter break, the roads are even driveable! Wooo HOO, Kuwait, get out there and have yourselves a great day!
In the hard copy of yesterday’s Kuwait Times (unfortunately, not the electronic edition) there was a small article featuring a Kuwait meteorologist who said that due to the south (easterly?) winds prevailing at this time of year, we could expect rain frequently throughout February. We sure need it. Yesterday was such a treat, but to quote Jewaira we need “More! More!”
GoogleEarth Map of Speed Cameras in Kuwait
From this morning’s mail, a most valuable tool for money-saving:
AdventureMan tells me in Doha, Qatar, there are now speed cameras everywhere, and the fines are HUGE. Like $2000 for speeding, and they have the picture to prove it. He also tells me the law is applied against everyone, from the highest to the lowest, so that there is a lot less speeding and weaving than we see in Kuwait. I wonder how it is going to work here?
I read in yesterday’s paper, in Jahra, a driver deliberately hit one of the cameras with his car! I wonder if the camera was able to capture the incident before its demise? (It said the culprit was arrested, I think.)
We were out in the Wild West last night (Fehaheel) and a police car was trying to get to a huge traffic snarl. He blurped and burbled, he shouted in his loudspeaker, and nobody let him in. There was no respect for the traffic police, no fear. People just looked after their own interests. Fortunately, it was all at a very low speed, as traffic was jammed tight. There WAS room to let the police car in, but nobody did. I wonder how it would have worked if he had a camera? Or started giving tickets?
Doesn’t Kuwait need a call-in, or e-mail in place where you can take photos of traffic things happening and report violators, like those guys who think they own the emergency lanes when traffic is backed up, or who think the handicapped spots are for them (one told me “but when there is no one parking there, anyone can use it!”) to use – it would be so nice to be able to take a photo and send it in to the authorities and to believe that something would be done about it.
TeaGirl – Final Entry in the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge
. . . Just under the wire, Teagirl sends in five spectacular entries from her archives. These are wonderful photos, TeaGirl:
Look at the composition on these photos – TeaGirl has the eye of a painter. I would love to know how you got that poster-effect in the second photo. Every face is beautiful in these shots; I would call the collection The Dignity of Work. Lovely photos, TeaGirl.
Stormy Weather
I heard a strange sound last night, and couldn’t figure out what it was. When I did – I laughed. How could a girl from the Pacific Northwest not know the sound of rain on the windows?
Here is what the “sunrise” looks like this morning:
It’s 61°F/16C early this Sunday morning, and the forecast is for light rain. We really need a good, soaking, heavy rain. Insh’allah.
Architecture in Kuwait
Fascinating article in today’s
Arab Times on architectural transitions in Kuwait from a talk given by Salah Abdullah, an expert in the analysis of architectural history, at the Aware Center. This is just an interesting excerpt, but you can read the entire article by clicking on the blue type above.
Old Kuwait
Eng Abdullah also explained the architecture of old Kuwait and how a number of elements have influenced Kuwait in making its buildings and architectural layout what it is today. “In the past city development in Kuwait was completely spontaneous and simply divided. In this it has been similar to many old cities, like London. But what dominated was the Arabic and Islamic culture which is the mainstay of interior designs of many Kuwaiti homes. Building materials were usually taken from nature — sea rock, mud, limestone and gypsum. The shape of old Kuwaiti architecture came to suit the environment and circumstances. Houses were adjacent in a manner that indicated the unity and corporation of the people and streets were usually narrow. Mosques were placed very close to houses, to allow the elderly to walk without trouble.
Construction in the past depended on Kuwaitis themselves. The engineer called ‘ustad’ at that time supervised the buildings and the laborers. They carried rocks, prepared mud bricks and started building. This process was called ‘collective vernacular architecture’. At that time three critical customs were kept in mind when constructing the houses. These included the privacy of women, segregation of guests — male and female — and future family expansion. Therefore to tackle these problems, the family part of the house where women rested was pushed to the back, far away from the street, so it was impossible for anyone passing by to see inside. The family entrance was also separated from the guest entrance. There was also a separate entrance for male and female guests. “The Diwaniya which persists until today also dominated the architectural buildings of the past. Diwaniyas for women were built on the west side of the house and male Diwaniyas on the east side,” explained Eng Abdullah.
I remember moving to Kuwait, I was shown 21 villas, and most of them had a kitchen outside. I was puzzled, then a friend told me that Kuwaitis don’t like the smell of food hanging around inside. What happens is . . . you forget. You get used to things, and after a while, it is like “oh yeh, the kitchen is outside” and you forget that it’s different. Recently, having dinner with Kuwaiti friends, they told us that their kitchen is inside, but they have a separate oven outside for cooking fish, because of the smell. I’ll have to remember that when they come to visit me in Seattle! Don’t cook fish, Intlxpatr! The smell goes all over the house!
Mr. Ken’s Sunrise #2
I love the pinks and blues and purples in this one from Mr. Ken:
Here is what Mr. Ken says:
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