Kuwait City, Kuwait   December 7, 2022

Kuwait gets 4.2 inches of rain each year.  They got 2 inches 2 nights ago and the fog is still hanging around-

Leanne and I started our day at the fish market-

It’s gigantic and has fish from all over the world including not only Kuwait and Turkey but salmon from Norway and shrimp from Iran.  I thought it was all local but not true-

We bought a kilo of prawns for lunch because a nearby restaurant would cook them for 1 Kuwaiti Dinar which is $4.45.  There is such a language barrier a person has to be careful how they phrase a question.  If you ask a question that requires a yes or no answer, 50% of the time the person will be right and you will believe they have answered the truth but 95% of the time they won’t speak English so it’s best to ask a question that requires words and an explanation.  That way you can decide if they truly understand or not and unfortunately most of the time they do not.  We were under the impression we were getting grilled prawns but apparently not-

They were in a spicy sauce and delicious-

There are fruits and vegetables also for sale.  They are so colourful-

The marina near the fish market-

From here we walked to the Grand Mosque which was closed-

and then on to the Mubaraklya souk.  I haven’t seen fresh meat hanging on this trip-

Goats-

More fruits and vegetables-

There were men playing checkers-

Everyone is super friendly and most love having their picture taken.  

I carried on to the Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah Museum which contains a history of Islamic art.  I loved it.  There are two parts to the museum - the first part presents a chronological progression from the 7th century, the crucial year being 622 , the year of the Hijra or migration of Prophet Muhammad from Medina to Mecca, marking the birth of Islam.  It continues on to the spread in the 16th century of the Ottoman Empires including the Mediterranean basin, the Safavids in Iran (including parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia) and the Mughals in the Indian sub continent.    The second part includes calligraphy and the use of geometric patterns.

Ceramic decoration from the 6th century AH.  The Islamic calendar uses 622 as year 1 and AH stands for Anno Hegirae or Year of the Hijra, The Prophet Muhammad’s visit to Mecca, so I guess for us it’s the 11th century AD-

Doors were decorated with vegetal motifs; from the 1st half of the 7th century AH or the 1st half of the 12th century AD-

A wooden shutter or cupboard door leaf carved and inlaid with ivory with a six pointed star pattern from Egypt,  9th/15th centuries-

A dagger decorated with diamonds, rubies and emeralds-

Sandstone screen from the 11th/16th century-

The Qur’an  from the late 10th/16th century-

It was about 3.5 km home.  Along the way-

Merry Christmas-

Pancakes for sale in a bakery-

There are large brand new shopping malls everywhere.  Lexus has been in this one since March-

and today Aston Martin unveiled the fastest SUV in the world - the DBX707 which does 0-100 km in 3.3 seconds.  It sells for $534,000!

Other Aston’s sitting outside-

They also have a prototype without a windshield or roof.  It’s not for sale-

Looking from behind-

I jokingly asked the salesman if these cars were electric.  Very seriously he replied that no, gas was cheap in Kuwait so they didn’t have to worry about that!  

I had a great day and am looking forward to more exploring tomorrow!

P.S.-