November 9, 2011
Lindsay, Rick and I went to the Heritage Souk this morning, and the plan was to walk to the Kuwaiti Towers after that. We were asking Abdul for directions to walk to the towers after we left the souk. He said that the fat Lindsay and Erin wouldn’t make it, and that it would be too long of a walk. Ah-hem. He was joking, but we knew we would have to prove him wrong! Really, you should hear Abdul laugh – it’s hilarious. Plus we know we can get him back: his wife is coming, and he says that when she comes he gets fat. Ha!
The souk was fascinating and gross. It stunk, especially in the fish and meat areas. I would definitely not go there on a hot day! I did not go into the fish areas. The floors in there were very wet, and who knows if the smell would have followed you or not! I did walk through the meat area. I saw a man pulling a wagon with dead, skinned baby cows. About three men stopped him, looked at the cows and started slapping them. Between that and the parts of dead animals just hanging around, I had to get out of there. Rick and Lindsay laughed at me. It's enough to make a girl a vegetarian. ewww....I just shuddered again thinking about it. Moving on!
You can buy all sorts of crap there, plus some really delicious looking fruits and vegetables.
One of the entrances.
Figs and dates.
The fruit and vegetable stalls. The woman on the right has on a full abaya - that includes the face covering.
Rick got a headscarf. I believe the color and the design signifies that it is from Yemen, but I may be remembering that wrong. The colors and the patterns on the headscarves for the men denote your origins.
We even ate lunch there. It was really good, but it took forever for us to get our food. It must be because we’re obviously not Arabic. Every table around us had people sit down, eat and leave before we even got our food. Ridiculous!
Rick and Lindsay shared an entire fish. I had Fatoush (cucumber, tomato and lettuce salad), potato curry and the bread. Oh the bread!
Our dining area :)
An example of a public bathroom. This bathroom did have 1 stall with an actual toilet. I did not have to go bad enough to use this particular example. I have been there / done that in Europe and it is not an experience that I want to relive. However, while waiting for Lindsay I had another glimpse of what happens underneath a burka. Let's just say the woman walked out of the stall with her burka up around her neck, her belly hanging out around her ankles and smoking a cigarette. She was not smoking when she went in there. I am assuming I should thank her for smoking, but I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. I told Lindsay I would wait for her outside after that view!
We did walk to the Kuwaiti Towers. It was a really nice day for a walk and only took us about 45 minutes. We took a slight detour by the Dasman Palace. The family of the previous Emir live there. We also detoured around the British Embassy. We didn’t actually see it, just the signs and the fencing with the barbed wire on the top.
Along the Arabian (Persian) Gulf.
I bought a pashmina at the Souk. I love it!
Kuwaiti Construction. Notice anything funny about this building? Maybe the 7 stories that are completely empty? How about the crane on the roof? No? Huh. Must just be me...
The Central Library for Arabic Poetry.
A view of the city.
The Kuwaiti Towers were interesting to see. They weren’t spectacular. I can now say that I’ve gone, and I’m good with that. Abdul came and picked us up. He asked us if we walked. When we said yes, he couldn’t believe that we’d actually done it! I think a part of the reason is that there are many people here that can’t/won’t do anything for themselves. The thought that they could get a ride would be more appealing to them than going for a decent walk on a nice day.
The observation area is in the tower on the left. We were up about 120 stories, in the small ball on the top. Inside there are pictures that show the towers after the Gulf War. The insides were destroyed by the Iraqis. It was very sad to see that, but it's nice that they have been restored.
A view of the shorter tower from the observation area. The outside of the towers are covered in circles in various shades of blue.
Looking directly down from the 2nd observation area.
At the second observation area you can get a snack. If you sit or stand next to the tables, you notice that the outside area moves around, so you end up seeing the entire view while staying seated.
The windows were dirty, hence that lovely streak in the middle of the picture. At least you can see part of the city!
A nice avenue of trees outside the towers.
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