Kuwait Off The Beaten Path

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This mosque easily wins the competition for oddest location of a place of worship. It is located in the parking lot of the Cartoon Network World building and does not appear to service any other population other than those who work in the building. That's a shame, because it is a actually a fairly pretty mosque that you would not expect to be in such a non-residential area. Its Turkish-style minaret and blue dome would imply that it is perhaps influenced by a non-Arab community, but it's not all that clear. Nevertheless, this is an interesting structure to contemplate even for a bit, as it is so out of place in its surroundings. Apart from that, it doesn't really have any particular features (such as patterns or tiling) that make it unique.

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This attraction is not what I would call a traditional one. Rather, it's something that you would probably look forward to visiting if you went somewhere in the US or in Canada. Nevertheless, the sheer number of expats in Kuwait means that there is no shortage of places like this, where kids can go to do things that they could have done at home. This particular Cartoon Network World is not far from the Courtyard in Kuwait City, on the south-east side of the Maqwa roundabout.

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Safat Square is not a particularly important square in Kuwait City (Safat is one of the districts of the capital), but it is a particularly impressive area. The square is very large and open, with a huge fountain in the centre that dominates your view. It is a main passage way from the area of the souq to the Baitak Tower and Liberation Tower areas. It also has a huge number of Indian and Pakistani vendors that clog the passage ways that go under the main streets, selling all sorts of cheap goods from China and India. I just really liked the polished marble aspect of the square and its fountain, which is why I suppose I took so many pictures of it.

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I don't know what it is, but another obsession of Kuwaitis seems to be clocks. Not the wall kind, but the type that go into obelisks and various other outdoor monuments. There are several places throughout Kuwait City in which you can find clocks posted in the middle of roundabouts or in the centre of boulevards. I snapped pictures of these two, but I think that there are others, although perhaps not quite as extravagant as these ones. In any case, there is rarely an explanation for the clock-tower. Maybe Kuwaitis just really like to know the time...

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One thing that Kuwaitis seem to really appreciate is murals. I'm not sure if there is some sort of basis for this in Kuwaiti culture, but, given the general level of dustiness and lack of urban planning in Kuwait, it can sometimes be rather surprising that you see a number of murals throughout the city. This one, which is located on Hillali Street not far from the JW Marriott, celebrates Kuwait's history of a shipping and fishing hub. I think that the general level of construction in the city has led many residents to desire a general campaign of beautification. The presence of these murals certainly goes a long way towards that, and it is undoubtedly a campaign that should please most visitors.

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I'm not sure what the name of the mosque is, but I have called it the Abdullah al-Mubarak Mosque because it was at the roundabout between Abdullah al-Mubarak and Hillali Streets. It was a memorable structure mainly because it had one of the worst muezzins in the city. That aside, it was also somewhat interesting because of the greenery that surrounded it and covered up a large part of its façade. The architecture of the building is fairly standard for Kuwait and it was obvious that this mosque was built more for functionality (it was frequented more by Pakistanis and Indians than by Arabs) than for beauty and aesthetics. Nevertheless, the pigeons seemed to love the mosque and would flock here to roost throughout the day, which gave the entire roundabout a bit of a European feel.

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This little garden is just off from the souq's restaurant section, next to the mosque. It is not a large park, but is a nice green break from the usual concrete of the city. The little garden has a few palm trees and some shrubs that help to block off the noise and distraction of the market. I didn't spend all that much time here, but I did always think that it went a long way to making the cafeteria area much more relaxing.

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Contrary to what many people believe about the Gulf countries, Kuwait does in fact have a constitution with certain guaranteed rights that are protected by a Supreme Court. In fact, the Supreme Court has played a fairly influential role in Kuwaiti life over the past few years, reinforcing womens' rights and the boundaries of the ulema in deciding legislation. That, however, is not why I took all these pictures of the Supreme Court. Rather, I took pictures because I liked the design of the building and the way in which the Kuwaitis had used traditional patterning to adorn an otherwise functional building. You cannot go into the building - as many Supreme Courts around the world - but you can take pictures of the building and admire it from afar, most notably from Sawaber Park on Ali Al-Salem Street.