Travel Photo Contest @BlogAdda

There is another contest by BlogAdda. To take part you need to post 5 of your best travel photos. Hmmm...... it’s difficult to make a choice, still I tried my best. So this post and pictures is for the Travel Photo Contest @ BlogAdda.


Though an Indian, I am based in Kuwait. So I have selected pictures that would reflect Kuwait through my lens.

So, here it goes...........

Kuwait Towers

Every city has a signature building, instantly recognizable by visitors from all over the world. London has Big Ben, New York has Empire State, Dubai has Burj Al Arab, India has Taj Mahal and Kuwait has Kuwait Towers.

Kuwait Towers stands majestically and elegantly on the water front in the Arabian Gulf Road and is regarded as the symbol of Kuwait. Designed by Sune Lindstrom and Malene Bjorn from Sweden and built by Energoproject,a company from Belgrade,Serbia,it was opened to public in March 1979.The towers consist of two towers and a third pole feeding them with electricity. The tallest tower, 187 meters high, holds two spheres. The upper sphere at the height of 120 meters has a viewing point, a café and a gift shop. This sphere has a revolving observation area, with one full turn every half hour.The breathtaking view of the city from the viewing point is awesome.The photos of destruction of the tower by the Iraqi troops during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 are displayed in the walls.

The intention of the Iraqi troops was to destroy the very symbol of Kuwait. The towers were badly destroyed as they attacked it with missiles. But it was rebuilt and today’s towers symbolize the affection, devotion, tenacity of the Kuwaiti people for their country.

This picture was taken during one of my visit to Kuwait Towers in the evening time.
 
 
 

Al Hashemi 2

This ship of gigantic proportion, rises high above the Radisson SAS Hotel, Kuwait.

This impressive structure is the realization of  Husain Marafie, one man's vision and dedication to preserve Kuwait's maritime heritagefor the future generations. Apart from bringing back memories of those graceful bygone days of sail, it has been recognized by Guiness World Records as the largest wooden dhow in the world. It is use as a restaurant and will never be put to sea. While maintaining all the qualities of an ocean-going dhow of the past century, Al Hashemi 2, is fitted out an exquisite banqueting hall.
 
When my brother visited us, we took him to various places of interest in Kuwait. This picture was taken in the evening time when we took him to show this gigantic ship.
 
 

Sunrise from Marina in Fahaheel near Al Kout Mall

Kuwait is a country where majority of the people are exceptionally rich. They have their own private jets and ships. There are lot of marina's attached to Malls in Kuwait where the rich Kuwaiti's park their private small boats. This picture was taken early in the morning when we went to enjoy the beautiful sunrise from the marina at Fahaheel, when my in-laws visited us.

 

View of Sunset from Al Sadu House  

The Al Sadu House which protect the interests of the Bedouins and their ethnic handicrafts is a unique tourist attraction of Kuwait and is located close to the National Museum. During one of our visits to Al Sadu House, I captured this spectacular view.

Shawarma

SHAWARMA is a Middle Eastern sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or a mixture thereof. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. Chunks of fat within the meat ensure that the shawarma stays juicy. Shawarma is a fast-food staple across the Middle East.

It is eaten with pita bread, tabouli, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus, pickled turnips and amba.

Shawarma is made by placing strips of beef, lamb or marinated chicken on a stick; an onion or tomato is placed at the top of the stack for flavoring. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the spit rotates in front of, or over, a flame for hours (see rotisserie). Traditionally a wood fire was used, now a gas flame is common. While specialty restaurants might offer two or more meat selections, some establishments have just one skewer.

It is very famous in Kuwait and you will find many restaurents serving it.I took this picture at a food stall in Mishref International Fair Ground.

This contest is sponsored by
http://www.blogadda.com/ and http://www.pringoo.com/

Modern Q8 In Pictures

Here are some pictures which reflect modern Kuwait, some of which I had already used in some earlier post.....

"Old Kuwait" in Pictures

Hi everyone. For the last few months I have been writing and sharing information and pictures about modern Kuwait. Discovery of oil changed Kuwait from a small village where fishing and diving were the primary activities to an internationally influential modern country with high standards.

Thought you would be interested to see "Old Kuwait" in pictures. Here are some of them I found………………

 

Kuwait National Planetarium

The Kuwait National Planetarium is a part of Kuwait National Museum. The planetarium building resembles a big oil container. It is a venue with a 15 meter wide horizontal dome. Inaugurated in 1986, the planetarium was one of the first in the Gulf region. Carl Zeiss equipped the dome with all technical facilities. The end came after only four years of its operation. In 1990, during the Gulf War, the Kuwait National Planetarium building was sabotaged and the planetarium burnt. The initial plan was to keep the destroyed building as witness to the invasion. It was then reconstructed beginning in 2000.

In 2001, more than ten years after the war damages, the rebuilt planetarium was opened to the public and in 2007 Carl Zeiss received the order for a major upgrade with fulldome capabilities along with Uniview to enable state of the art interactivestorytelling in a 3D environment.

The planetarium is now entertaining and educating the public of all ages and range from kindergarten to university professors.

We enjoyed the show and got to increase our knowledge about the universe.

About Uniview : Uniview is a visualization and simulation software application aimed at presenting and teaching astronomy, astrophysics and Earthbased sciences such as geography, geology, biodiversity and climatology.Through the unique Uniview ScaleGraph technology Uniview provides a seamless visualization of the entire known universe, from human scales all the way to the cosmic horizon. While being completely

interactive, Uniview is powered by the Uniview Flight Assist algorithms to make sure motion is always smooth and intuitive.

The show timings are as follows :

Mornings:
1st Show : 10:00
2nd Show : 11:00
3rd Show : 12:00

Evenings:
1st Show : 5:00
2nd Show : 5:45
3rd Show : 6:30

Note : Friday & Saturday no morning shows

Timings : open upto 7 in the evening

Enterance Fee : Free

Contact number: 22451195
                            22456534

Heritage Museum, Q8

I think the Heritage Museum is the best part of Kuwait National Museum. Personally it’s my favorite. It's a museum about Kuwait’s heritage. It gives you a picture about Kuwait during the 40's and 50's. A visit to the museum is an enlightening and educational experience.

The displays include statues imitating the old ways of Kuwait. On the both sides of the narrow path, you will catch a glimpse of Kuwait's life from merchants selling their goods to what a typical Kuwaiti house looked like before the invasion of modern technology. Also there are old black and white photos dating back to 1940’s. You will come to know that Kuwait was once a simple trading hub and that a lot of people depended on the sea for earnings.

As you enter the museum on the left side is a library of old Arabic books. We did not understand what the books are all about as there were no explanations in English. But the other displays are nicely explained in English. The first statue is that of “Al Natur”( guard of the market). His duty was the security and maintenance of the market. Then there is “Al Bajajas” or the Jew market as all the vendors were Jewish. They imported things from India and sold it to the Kuwaiti people. “Al Bourkhotaah”(originally Indian word) is the shop that sells utensils and household items. Most of the items were imported from India. Then there is “Al Kharaj”, who sold leather products mainly shoes of camel and sheep skin. ‘Al Khabooj” is the oldest market in Kuwait, who makes and sells bread. “Al Tamoor”, locally known as “Al Tamar” was the Dates Market. Varieties of dates are displayed which are kept in wooden boxes. Al Behri is the most costly dates and it’s from the Basra district of Iraq. Also the Arms Market, where different types of guns were sold and repaired. They were mainly imported from Europe. Al Naddaf and Al Haddad are also exhibited."Al Naddaf"  is the person who prepares the cotton and fiils it in different items made from textiles like mattresses, seats and cushions.  "Al Haddad" is the Arabic name for blacksmith, one of Kuwait's oldest crafts serving local needs for iron products." Souq Al Haddadin"  is one of Kuwait's Oldest market. Also beautifully projected is "Al Qaffas", the name give to the person who manufactures products made from palm tree banches such as birdcages, beds and others. These products were considered very important for the daily life of Kuwaitis in the past. "Al Saffar" is the name given to the person who makes copper utensils and accessories. In the past " Souq Al-Safafir"  was the marketplace for copper utensils and accessories. Shops selling grocery ‘Bakala’; shops selling cloths “ Bishoyts”; curtain maker “Al Gatan”; “Al Safat Square”, which was a commercial area for long time, where convoy’s meet and exchanged products, then Al Sadu weaving which is their traditional weaving are all presented attractively. Then Madrassa’s, Diwaniya, Bride’s room, Family Room, Kitchen, Inner courtyard of a Kuwaiti household etc which are part of a Kuwaiti house are attractively displayed. In the past Kuwaiti’s mainly depended on ship building and pearl diving to earn their living. Building sailing ships was known as " Al Qallafa" and this industry became popular and grew over the past three centuries and played an intergral role in Kuwait's economy in the past. This glorious past of Kuwait is also vividly displayed.

Apart from the daily life been projected in statues and images, there are a few antique's on display such as gramophones, camera's, radio’s, weapons, jewelry, clothing ( men and women), Chinese items mainly household pots, plates, incense holder and sprays of different shapes and sizes and a lot more to see and learn….

It was an amazing and entertaining experience. We enjoy every time we visit this museum. A  MUST VISIT for citizens, residents and visitors.