More Kuwait

Our visit in Kuwait was short but our timing could not have been more perfect. It was by mere coincidence that we arrived on the same day as the 20th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion. This was the headline of the newspaper as we drove in the taxi to our hotel:

We also soon found out that the invasion happened across the street from our hotel, at the Sheraton. With very little warning, the tanks arrived in the middle of the night and the Sheraton guests were expected to leave the hotel. We heard of an American guy who arrived on August 3rd. It was his first time overseas and only hours after he arrived, he had to evacuate the hotel with no where to go. He slept in a park for a couple of days. I am guessing that was his last time visiting the Middle East.

One of Axel's friends who had lived in Kuwait during the invasion described the confusion and instability that happened after the announcement was made that Kuwait was being invaded. He said everyone rushed to the ATMs to grab their money until all the ATMS ran dry. Most Kuwaiti men abandoned their families and fled to Saudi Arabia. To this day, many women and children still hold anger in their hearts.

Axel's friend's wife was 8 months pregnant at the time and they could not leave the country. Everything was so unstable and people locked themselves in their houses and rationed food. There were no flights leaving Kuwait and the borders were secure. The OBGYN even advised him to get his wife out of the country in any way possible because the doctor himself was fleeing. With no other option, Axel's friend drove his wife and family to Baghdad, which was the closest, and ironically, the safest place to get a flight. When he left he had no idea if he would ever return to his home again. It was a long 8 months before he chanced returning back to Kuwait. It was a slow transition, but eventually, he rebuilt his life back in Kuwait.

It was an incredible night and I felt so fortunate to hear a first hand account of the Gulf War and its impact on those living in Kuwait. Amazing.

---

Our hotel was also adjacent to the Filipino Souq. There were some good finds in there:

I was tempted to buy this shirt in case I am ever late for something. You know, just to make sure everyone knows that I am here now, now. For extra emphasis the tiny letters on the bottom say 'My Heart now.'

I was tempted to purchase this soap for each one of my children. I could give it to them on their first date, in front of their suitor. Just to be clear.

Axel and I visited the Sharq mall, which was quaint and fun. There were several stores I had never seen before with some really interesting fashion. All the clothing is unflattering and purposely made not to show a woman's figure. It is too bad because the styles and fabrics were cute, but in a tent-like style. If I was pregnant, or looking for a moo moo, I would have made a few purchases.

The best part about the Sharq mall is the setting. It is placed right on the corniche, which was smelly, but beautiful.

Kuwait is one of the dirtiest countries I have visited in the Gulf, which surprised me. In both Qatar and Dubai, you can almost eat off the public bathroom floors (no, I have not attempted this, but would be fine if I had to). Kuwait had more graffiti and visible garbage, which in some ways made the city feel more 'real' than other Gulf countries. Sometimes sterile makes things less interesting. Case and point - Nepal.

An insane Kuwaiti woman sitting in the 125 degree heat

The Kuwait Towers

Pottery Barn Kuwait

One of the most impressive sights in Kuwait is the Avenues Mall. The first phase is the only part that is complete, and there will be a total of 3 phases--4 miles in length. It is supposed to be the largest in the Gulf, which is saying a lot after being in Dubai. So many Western stores can be found at the Avenues, Build-a-Bear, Ikea, Pottery Barn, etc.

The Avenues has so many American stores that cannot be found in other Gulf countries. You can really see a strong US influence in Kuwait. Even the city planning seems more American than European (like it is in Qatar). It was also nice to see so many people treat American well--somewhat of a rare thing here in the Middle East.

And, that's Kuwait.

Kuwait Souq

I joined Axel on one of his business trips this week. He goes to these allusive places, so it is always nice to experience the countries in the flesh. I have always wanted to see Kuwait. I was a teenager of the '90s and the CNN coverage of Desert Storm piqued my interest. I have a lot of my dad in me--always wanting to walk into the fires.

There isn't a whole lot to Kuwait City. However, I think it has a lot more life to the city than Doha. Maybe it is because of its recent history, I don't know, but I think I would prefer it over Doha (other than the stinky sewage issues that are blatantly obvious in 120 degree weather). Axel was critical of Kuwait as a country, until we moved to Qatar and he officially claimed Qatar as the worst Gulf country--lucky us. Funny enough, I love my life in Doha, but my happiness comes from my immediate surroundings and our social network there, the city itself has little to offer.

Outside of the Avenues (arguably the coolest mall in all of the Gulf boasting all the American stores one expat woman could desire), there isn't a whole lot to do in Kuwait. We did, however, visit the Kuwaiti Souq, which is second to our Doha Souq, but still had life and all the oud Axel could possibly purchase.

Wandering the endless alleys was exhausting but every corner exposed a new group of specialized items. I loved the bright, white dishdasha section:

While we were walking this young man stopped us and asked Axel if he could speak 'American' to his little sister. The situation was quite awkward, but cute:

'How are you?

'What is your name?'

'Where are you from?'

'Do you like Kuwait?'

'Thank you, nice to meet you.'

'Good bye'

We were low on Kuwait Dinars so we asked for directions to an ATM from this kind Kuwaiti man. Overall, the locals are rather friendly. Like Bahrain, our taxi driver was a local Kuwaiti. The only difference is, Kuwait has a butt load of oil money. It just isn't equally distributed like it is in Qatar.

What I also loved about Kuwait is that the local women aren't only dressed in black abayas. They mix it up a bit with a different colored hijab and long sleeve shirts with floor length skirts. It makes fashion critiquing so much funner.

What would a good souq be without a fine selection of dates? They taste even better than they look!
The fish market was also a special experience, especially in blasting 125 degree weather. Think of it, dead fish, in intense heat, mixed with a fine raw sewage odor. It was delicious.

What is a good souq without a carpet selection? The carpets in Kuwait aren't as great as Bahrain, but I did happen to find a sweet kilim pillow for a 1/3 of the price they were asking in Qatar. The selection wasn't great, but it is always fun to stare at carpets, good and bad.

The trip was short, but really fun! I would love to visit again. I just may wait until the weather cools down to a balmy 100 degrees.

Arabian Oud

This is Axel again. I have always loved incense since I went to BYU. Nepal was a great place to get great incense for next to nothing.

The Arabs here in the Gulf however like to burn something called Oud, which means 'wood'. This comes from the Aguilera or agarwood trees which grows in the jungle. The tree is not good for much as it is a soft wood. However some of them are infected by a fungus that will kill the tree. The tree naturally makes a resin to fight the fungus and it is that resin that smells so good.

The Nguyen dynasty in Vietnam first discovered this and traded with China and it was basically the thing that made Vietnam rich back then. It was then discovered in India, Indonesia, but the best stuff comes from Laos and Cambodia.

When the Arab traders started visiting Malaysia and Indonesia, they started the trade with the Middle East and supplimented the already booming Frankincense and Myrrh trades (which I am not too fond of either one). Both are found in the Middle East in Oman and Yemen. Myrrh is actually just a pine like resin.

This is a typical Oud (or Bukary in Kuwait) shop. Perfumes which are oil based (remember no alcohol in Islam - even in the perfume) are also sold. You can see the good stuff below in glass cases. I am haggling for a better price, but this stuff is pretty set. You pay it or don't buy it.

There are so many different kinds of smells and types of the Oud. Some are enhanced by perfumes and those are the cheap ones. The expensive ones look more like dead wood and have a more woody rich smell. I love the ones that smell like that, but Terah prefers the ones that smell more perfumey. Which is good for me because that is the cheap stuff. There are also supposed to be differences between Oud that was from the forest and the stuff that is grown and intentionally infected with the fungus on agarwood farms.

It is sold by the 'tola' which is as near as I can tell is about 10 grams. You can see them weighing it out here and I am telling the guy to put some extra on for free. Cheap stuff is about 6-7 bucks a tola. Expensive stuff is more expensive than gold or diamonds. The Arabs will pay it. The really rich ones actually have agents who live in the forests and when a villager finds a good tree these agents buy everything off them, grease the officials and ship the whole tree to the private buyers. Japanese are also very much into this and therefor the bidding war for really good oud can get quite serious.

So many choices. So little money Terah will let me spend....

The mother load of cheap stuff. Found only in Kuwaiti outdoor souq markets (Heritage Souq).
THis is my holder. You can see me burning the charcoal. The charcoal gets red and then the wood is added to the top of the red charcoal and it starts smoking away.

I used a normal lighter until I got sick of burning my fingers and then I found one of those cigar blow torches. Just call me the Ghost Rider...

It is a whole process. I must admit that my male genetic disposition to want to burn stuff probably helps my love of doing this. And flaming stuff with a blow torch doesn't hurt. You can see from above my own collection. It represents about 200 bucks or so.

The good stuff. This was from a natural tree in the forest found in Cambodia. It is very light and probably weighed less than half or quarter of a pound. That piece Terah is holding sells for 1600 - 2000 USD. A bit more expensive than a quarter pounder happy meal. It goes up from there.

Wish this blog had scratch and sniff capabilities, but if you have ever been to the Middle East and walked through a mall then you know the smell well! At least the smell of the cheap stuff they burn to attract you in!