Salmiya

Thanks to Intlxpatr , who loved to live there too, I came across this beautiful little piece. Kuwait changed sometimes during two-month summer vacations much. After four years, it has beautified so much. Amazing. I used to live close to Salmiya's wonderful corniche. Miss it much.

In the third parliamentary election within only three years, four women have won seats in the Kuwaiti parliament yesterday. Women have fought successfully for their voting rights in 2005. I remember with much sympathy the women of Kuwait demonstrating in front of the parliament when inside lawmakers eventually agreed to give them the right to vote. When I congratulated some of my female Kuwaiti colleagues, open-minded and westernized, well-educated young women, they argued, however, that the right to vote may only strengthen the influence of the Islamists in the country. The paradox may be explained as follows. Very traditional Kuwaiti family fathers have, of course, up to four wives and plenty of grown-up but still unmarried daughters who, in all likelihood, will vote what the householder prefers: one man, several votes. In the following parliamentary election in 2006, and two years later when the parliament had untimely been dissolved by the Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah...

Most of Kuwait Bay is lined by extended mudflats. The Bubiyan island in the Northeast is also mainly formed of mud. It is connected with the mainland by an impressive bridge but still public traffic is not permitted. The Arabian (indeed, the Persian) Gulf has only one major fresh water source, the Shatt Al Arab. Together with great heat in summer and, therefore, enormous evaporation, water is very salty, even more in enclosed bays or in intertidal pools. Nevertheless, life is abundant, and fishing may still be an important source for food. Typical Hadra traps are found in the mudflats, complicated maze of sticks in shallow waters. Fish will not be able to find a way out and will be picked by the fishermen at low tide. Another trap is Gargoor which is portable. The principle is generally the same. Fish will swim into the trap through a funnel but certainly are not intelligent enough of finding a way out. Near the Bubiyan bridge the remains of the Iraqi invasion, ruins and vessel wreck...

Temperatures between June and September may rise well beyond 45 centigrade in Kuwait. For someone that might be a constant cause for expressing discomfort and suffering. Others simply enjoy. Public beaches in Kuwait can be found everywhere at the seafront between the Kuwait Towers and Ras Salmiya, and further south. Kuwait’s multicultural society is nowhere evidenced better. The Islamic dress code has to be observed, of course. Jet ski racing has become very popular in Kuwait Bay, and it is mainly the young lads who really love showing their daring and acrobatic maneuvers.

A great spectacle on Thursday afternoons, Kuwait’s camel race. When it was made public that the boys were usually kidnapped from Pakistan, 'robots' suddenly replaced them as jockeys all over the Emirates of the Gulf.

Belonging to the Arabian Shelf in the Western part of the Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait is extremely flat. It is mainly made of sand of sediments which once were covered by the sea. In fact, the area is a sedimentary coastal plain with no real mountains or rivers. The only prominent natural feature in the country is the escarpment of Jal Az Zor which runs about 60 kilometers along the North shore of Kuwait Bay. To the North and Northwest, the desert extends up to the Iraqi border without any uprisings. The sand- and limestone cliffs of Jal Az Zor may rise up to 130 meters. Its sedimentary origin can easily be seen from the exposed strata and further proof may be marine fossils that can be found there. The gully systems along the escarpment are gradually being eroded by wind and rainfall and slowly being filled in by sand. The beauty of the desert in this part of Kuwait and its peaceful atmosphere can be soaked in particular in wintertime and spring.