Ramadan Iftar

Food in Ramadan takes on a special significance and Iftar [if-tarr] is the meal in which those who have fasted from sunrise to sunset eat again - the breaking of the fast at sunset. Because of the reasons behind not fasting and the length of time without consuming either liquid or food families always break fast together.  

Consequently family houses are full of guests throughout the month of Ramadan and often 20 or more people will eat together each night. So, the food section is large because after a day of non-consumption it's a great relief to be sitting down to a meal with loved ones and counting your blessings.With that number of people it’s difficult to fit around a table, so the table itself becomes a plastic sheet on the floor and the family sits around it. 

The main dish of the evening is usually put on three plates; one large one in the middle and two smaller ones at each end. All the other food will be put on to at least two separate dishes, one on each half of the plastic sheet. This system ensures dishes don’t have to be passed along a chain of people.

Food Eaten

Traditionally the fast was broken with dates and a yogurt-like substance called laban (see below for more details), although these days families will often sit down to a full meal. The first thing most people want is a drink, this is then followed by some food. As an outsider iftarin Kuwait seems to consist mainly of carbohydrates and fat although in Saudi it will often only consist of dates and yogurt. Once these have been eaten the worshiper will pray, either in the house (if she’s a woman) or at the mosque (if he’s a man) and only after this prayer will more food be consumed.

The Sun Sets

Over the years, as I was racing against the sun to reach the family house to be on time for the start of iftar, I've become quite accurat at telling the time by the location of the sun in the sky. A reasonably easy thing to do, you just check how far away it is from the horizon and from there you have an idea of how many minutes are left until its disappear and dusk arrives. In the Gulf, because of the nearness to the equator, the sun sinks fast and there is very little time between sunset and darkness.

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Earth Day Celebration

Kuwait Earth Day is being celebrated at Discovery Mall. I went there  this evening and we had a nice time. There were stalls set up with establishments and individuals promoting green concept services and awareness about protecting our environment in different ways. There were art and craft activities for children and they seemed to be really enjoying their time painting on different mediums. There were lots of crafts made of wood which children could paint. I wished I was kid and could sit along with the children and paint too! There were flower vases and pen holders and decorative items made with old magazine pages. It's important to protect our environment and create an awareness among the young children too. I took some pics at the exhibition. Hope you enjoy them. 

 Discovery Mall

  Discovery Mall Entrance

 Huge collection of Plastic Bottles

 Chair and Pen Holder from old magazine Papers

 Paper Swan

Pen Holder

Beautiful assortment of  flower and vegetable seeds

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Liberation Tower

Liberation Tower

Towering high above the city of Kuwait, this is one monument you cannot miss while gazing at the city's skyline. Nor it is unknown to anyone staying in Kuwait. But do you know that this popular landmark measures 372 meters, which makes it about 40 meter’s taller than Paris' Eiffel Tower. It is a symbol of Kuwait's liberation from the Iraqi rule during the Gulf War. In addition it is also one of the tallest telecommunication towers around the world.  It is also the tallest structure in Kuwait. Construction of the tower started before Iraqi invasion on August 2, 1990. It was then meant to be called The Kuwait Telecommunication Tower. When the invasion took place, the construction was put on hold and resumed after Saddam Hussein’s forces were relegated. The tower was renamed as the Liberation Tower, in the year 1993; after the renovation was over.His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah inaugurated this telecommunications tower on March 10, 1996.

On your visit toLiberation Tower , you will see that the structure façade is made up of ceramic tiles on the frontage from the base to the first lowest level, which is about 308 meters above the ground. The tower and the telecommunication compound are divided into three working areas. They include, a public communication center, revolving observation level and a restaurant, and the adjoining plant and equipment structure. There are 18 elevators in this tower. These can carry you up and down in no time. Two of them are enclosed with glass and can accommodate 21 passengers. They are regarded as one of the fastest in the world at notching up speeds of about 6.3 meters per second. There are six floors of offices set up above the revolving mezzanine floor. It is also known as Tahreer Tower. The view of Kuwait you get to see from the observation platform is breathtaking.

The Liberation Tower of Kuwait, is similar to the C N Tower (a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.) since both contain a revolving restaurant, observation platform, telecommunications equipment and similar architecture. 

This is one must-visit destination when you are in Kuwait. It houses many government offices so it remains close for public. Only on Liberation Day from morning 7am to 12 noon, it remains open to general public. There are no entrance fees. And lots of activities are organized on this special day on the observation platform. You will surely enjoy if you visit it. So if you want to visit Liberation Tower, it has to be on this special day.

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Kuwait City - a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again. It was first settled in the early 18th Century by Sheikh Sabāh I. Its name may have derived from an earlier abandoned fort located there, called "Kūt" (كوت) - Arabic for a fortress by the sea.

I have an affection for this great city. My first day in Kuwait City, April 4, 1995. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets. Eventually, I think Kuwait City will be the most beautiful great city left in the world. This great city has the greatest man or woman: even if it has a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city in the whole world. I Love this city and the government. In their welfare comes my welfare. In their salvation comes glory to God and celebration in heaven and on earth...

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