Salmiya

I know that I was always very privileged when living in the country. My Ramadans were usually nice times full of interesting discussions about religious matters and in general plenty of opportunities for widening my horizon. However, the easy-going times of Ramadan are now definitely over. Since last year (when I had left the Middle East for good already) the Holy Month is moving into the summer months and will be observed for about 12 years during the scorching heat. A full circle of the Gregorian-Hijra calendar is 33 years, an entire generation. Since in Muslim countries the population is very young, few people have experienced the harsh conditions of fasting during the long, extremely hot and, what makes it even worse, humid days. I have noticed that the weather conditions were very uncomfortable in Kuwait the last days. When living in Kuwait, I had expressed my concerns many times and usually was told by the older Kuwaiti colleagues that people were used to it. I doubt. Most people...

After a lunch with a friend and a colleague from hurricane Katrina-devastated University of New Orleans I headed home. It was the first Conference of the African and Middle-Eastern Divisions of the IADR and many guests had come to the tiny country in the corner of the Persian Gulf, former co-workers of FOD. A record number of attendees from Iran, some from Saudi-Arabia, and many African colleagues who we had met one year ago in Nairobi on the occasion of the founding meeting of this IADR Federation. We had been in the Lebanese restaurant at the Marina Mall in Salmiya. It was end of September and temperatures had already dropped to more comfortable levels. But when I hurried home to the Al Qanaa building close-by, I realized that these 39 degrees had almost killed some of the plants on my balcony. Thank God, the canary birds were used to the heat, at least when the cage had been put in shady areas. The effects of my emergency watering were documented between 2:54 and 3:46 pm in 16 shot...

As in every year, temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) during the last week of July. The heat is then unbearable. This year, it happened Saturday and Sunday when Kuwait Airport recorded 50 degrees. There are no meteorological stations out in the desert which could indicate even higher temperatures. Those in the farm areas in Abdaly in the far north and Wafra in the far south sometimes record 51 or even 52 degrees. One of my favorite places, on top of Jal Azzor, can only be visited later in the year (or in springtime). The peaceful watching of the setting sun while listening to the low sounds of the wind has always been a great pleasure. Contemplation and meditation in an otherwise extreme and most hostile environment may reduce one’s, at a time exaggerated, ego in a very healthy way. Maybe some people may even understand why the great monotheistic religions have their origins here, in the vast lonesomeness of the Middle Eastern deserts. About 60 kilometers long Jal ...

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.