My trip to Kuwait, part 2: Kuwaiti society and culture

When I first got to Kuwait, I was expecting to see all the men wearing keffiyehs and agals like I showed you in my last post. I like to discover as much traditional local culture as possible when I travel. But what I found was that not as many men wear keffiyehs as I had anticipated. It turns out that only about half of Kuwait's population is actually from Kuwait. The other half is made up of migrants from all over the world who have come to live and work in Kuwait, especially in the oil industry. Often, these migrants are men who travel to Kuwait without their families and only intend to stay for a short period of time. In some other Persian Gulf countries (such as Bahrain), the number of foreign migrants greatly exceeds the local population. In Kuwait, the foreign population is about 50%. The greatest number of migrants come from poor countries in South Asia such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their presence, along with Kuwait's traditional cultural and economic links to other parts of the world, make Kuwait a very diverse place.
One of the best ways to see the hustle and bustle of a place is to go to the market. In the Arab world, markets are known as suqs. The word "suq" is pronounced in such a way that it rhymes with "fluke." Kuwait City's suq is very big and very noisy. In this photograph, you can see the Kuwaiti flag and a display showing all the various male members of the ruling Sabah family.

The Kuwaiti flag is on the left. The other flag says "Kuwait," but it is backwards.

Here's a photo that captures a lot of the diversity of the suq. You can see pictures of the Sabah family, women in traditional dress, men in Western dress, a man in a keffiyeh, and a shop display of Angry Birds shirts.

Outside the suq.

The suq has an Indian restaurant catering to the many South Asian people who live there.

Here is a photo of the Indian restaurant in the suq.

Here is another photo of the suq. Do you see the men in their keffiyehs and agals?

The suq.

One interesting thing about the suq is that it housed an office that was once used by Sheikh Mubarak al-Sabah, who ruled Kuwait in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mubarak was part of the same family that still rules Kuwait today. He had a palace, of course, but sometimes it was easiest for him to settle disputes by coming to the suq and using his office. Now, the office is a museum of Kuwait's early history.

I sit under a photo of Sheikh Mubarak al-Sabah.

I ate a big dinner at an Arab restaurant in the suq. In the front is some traditional Kuwaiti bread. Behind it, you can see some kebabs. On the right is hummus. And in the middle, of course, is traditional Kuwaiti Aquafina.

Here is what I ate for dinner in the suq.

For dessert, I ate in the cafeteria of the American University of Kuwait. This dessert is an Egyptian dessert called Umm Ali. It is a type of bread pudding made with pistachios and raisins. The availability of Egyptian food is another indication of Kuwait's diverse cultural heritage.

I eat Umm Ali.

In the suq, I enjoyed looking at this display of dates. Dates are ubiquitous in the Gulf region. One of the most famous areas for the cultivation of dates is in southern Iraq, which is less than 100 miles away from the suq. Unfortunately, Kuwait doesn't import dates from Iraq; the two countries haven't had meaningful relations, economic or otherwise, since the end of the war in 1991. These are Saudi dates.

Dates!

On Friday night, Kuwaiti families like to get together and enjoy the warm air outside. As you may know, Friday is a day of worship for Muslims. It is also the start of the Kuwaiti weekend, which runs from Friday to Saturday. After the day is over and the prayers are performed, it's time to relax. These Kuwaiti children are playing in a fountain next to the suq.

Kids are playing in the fountain.

I had a fantastic time in Kuwait! Unfortunately, I couldn't stay very long because I had to catch a plane to Hong Kong. I'll tell you about my trip to Hong Kong next.

--Benny