Fuzzy Sunrise
When I got up this morning and saw all the clouds, I didn’t think we were going to get much of a sunrise. Then I had to run and grab the camera as signs of light started to appear – and it all turned out gloriously. The sun has once again hidden behind the heavy clouds (I keep hoping for rain) but – we had a moment. . .
It is 73°F / 23°C at 0700, temperatures expected to go up to 87°F / 31°C today.
93°F / 34°C
The forecast for today was 84°F/ 29°C, but my place is heating up; it feels a little STEAMY. Weather Underground: Kuwait says it is 93°F / 34°C – and it is only March 11. Isn’t this a little early to be having this kind of weather? Doesn’t Spring last just a little longer? I remember back in October/November when it would get below 100°F and we would all start to talk about how much cooler it was feeling. This just isn’t right!
Sunrise 10 March 08
Morning is coming earlier and earlier, and we haven’t even hit the Spring Solstice yet. I fell asleep too early last night, so I was wide awake when the sun started rising this morning. It looks like another beautiful, glorious Spring day, no clouds, just that troublesome layer of haze off there in the distance.
It is 55°F / 13°C at 0730.
Old Mosque Near Mubarakiyya
I really wanted to include this photo just to show you how very blue the sky was yesterday. The white of this mosque’s minaret provides contrast:
Just as the Sabille is placed on the street to provide water for the thirsty, the local mosques usually have a place to wash before prayers.This washing is required and is called Wudu. Some places are very utilitarian, but the mosque above, and the nearby women’s mosque, have a beautiful place for washing:
The tile pattern is intricate:
Twilight 7 Mar 2008
Last night had to be one of the most beautiful nights I have seen in Kuwait. The weather was perfect. The haze lifted – have you noticed that Fridays are often the least hazy day of the week?
Is it less automobile traffic? Is it some factory not active on Fridays which pours out pollutants during the week? For some reason, if there is a really clear day in Kuwait – and that is a big “if” – it will be a Friday.
People were eating outside everywhere it was possible. The weather was warm, without being hot. It had a different feel to it; it felt like living in a more European country. Last night, when it got dark, you could even see stars in the sky – 90% of the nights in Kuwait, it is too hazy to see all but one or two of the very brightest stars with the naked eye.
Here is what it looked like at twilight:
Yes, there is still that worrisome band of thick hazy something on the horizon, but at twilight, it goes that lovely purple grey color, surrounded by bands of pink in the water and the sky as the sun is setting. A total WOW.
Sweet and Clear
The morning dawned sweet and clear, it is 50°F / 10°C and there is no dust! No dust! If there is one thing a dust storm is good for, it is that it makes us truly appreciate how sweet it is when there is NO dust storm.
Looking at the forecast for the rest of the week, it is soon approaching 90°F – March is the great transition between winter and summer. It happens too fast for me, I wish for a few more weeks of the temperate weather, when we can go out and walk and breathe the cool air (when it is not a dust storm.)
People are already talking about putting away their winter clothing.
More Dust 5 March 2008
This is what the morning looks like. There is dust in the air, there is dust on my windows. This dust is not like sand blowing around; there isn’t anything accumulating on the roads, at least from what I can see. The temperature has dropped once again, and it is 57°F / 14°C at 0630 with “heavy blowing widespread dust”.
New Crop Palm Trees
Sitting over a long lunch, a friend asked me if I could remember my earliest impressions of Kuwait, and all I could remember was that the traffic speeds scared the hell out of me. Then, yesterday morning, we were driving on 40 and my memory was jogged; I remember moving here from Qatar and thinking how GREEN Kuwait is.
Qatar is impeccably clean. Street crews are out all the time, insuring that the highways are immaculate. There are beautiful flowers and wide boulevards. But when you leave Qatar, you realize your eyes are starved for green. I remember landing here the first time, and seeing pockets of green, even in very desert-like areas. I love the way the government has planted trees, especially palm trees. Your mind may not always register them, but it makes for a nicer environment.
I noticed recently a new crop of palm tree antennas. I think this is a total hoot. A generation ago, everyone in this area was buying Eiffel tower replicas for their roofs to bring in TV signals; now the communication towers are being disguised – and I love it. I blogged about this a while back but this time, I am going to challenge YOU – take your camera and open your eyes. When you see a disguised communications tower, shoot it.
How do you recognize them? They are taller than any real palm tree you have ever seen. They have no dead leaves and nothing on the trunk. They tend to be near hotels, but I also see them occasionally in a residential district.
You can blog it, or you can send it to me as a JPEG attachment and I will publish them. Be sure to tell us where it is taken. Here is the one I saw at the Hilton:
Here is the previous entry on Palm-Tree-Antennas.
And bravo to whoever came up with this idea – it is clever and it is a great disguise for those communication towers. Gives me a grin whenever I see them.
No sunrise today; the dust is rolling in and the sun can barely be seen. The temperature at 0830 is 66°F/19°C.
First Sunrise in March
Sunrise is starting to look a lot like summer – not so many clouds to make it more dramatic. We still have some clarity, the sky is still more blue and less hazy, but every sign is there that the cold winter is over and summer is well on its way. It is 48°F / 9°C, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky, only that wicked, poisonous haze hanging over the horizon.
Back to Work Sunrise
Last night, in the middle of the night, I thought I heard raindrops on the window. I was too drowsy to get up and look, but this morning I can see the pavement is damp and small almost-puddles, so I think we had a small shower, at least where I live.
The sky looks like it might turn blue, well above the horizon, but the horizon is thick and threatening – it almost reminds me of Fires of Kuwait, the award winning show at the Kuwait Science Center about the teams who put out the fires set by Saddam Hussein’s retreating forces as they tried to inflict one final devastation on the Kuwait economy. I can’t imagine what it must have been like here while the wells were being capped, and I wonder if anyone is keeping statistics on the history of health issues of those who were here during that terrible time.
It is 55°F / 13°C at 0700; Weather Underground: Kuwait shows no precipitation, so maybe I imagined it.
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