Kuwait OVERVIEW
The intermarriage of strict Islamism and Western liberalism powered with 10 percent of the world's estimated oil reserves must have given birth to intriguing offspring. Uncompromising alcohol prohibition is juxtaposed with a live-and-let-live policy for clothing, and opulent mosques with the booming, sky-rise metropolis of Kuwait City. And, apart from the obvious attractions of the Arabian Desert that covers most of the country with its sun-drenched coat, and Falaka Island that offers a blooming alternative to the omnipresent sand but hasn't yet unfolded its tourist infrastructure, Kuwait City is perhaps the safely port to drop the anchor and look around for something engrossing to do. And the options are manifold.
It's kind of like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower or the London Eye. When in Kuwait, you simply feel compelled not to miss the Towers. Not only does the main one allow stunning views of the city as its top deck floor rotates every 30 minutes, but it also has a cozy cafe up there and, thanks God, air conditioning is always on, which makes it perhaps one of only two places you can enjoy in Kuwait when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius. The other one is the beach malls. Marina, Soukh Sharq, and Al Kout are symbols of the city's meteoric development and go far beyond ordinary shopping expectations to offer splendid family entertainment, exquisite dining, and a range of waterfront activities; let alone the sunrise at the Marina Crescent side and the heart-melting sunsets that at least partly compensate for the lack of nightlife. Add to it dazzling resorts, totally absorbing museums or vibrant festivals such as the Annual Pearl Diving, and there's no need to sail any further.
Yet if it's a gist of military history that makes your holiday time complete, west of the capital lies the ill-famed Al-Jahra that shouldered all the violence of Saudi Arabian invasion in 1920 and the Gulf War's 'turkey shoot', when the Allied shattered a stalled, retreating Iraqi convoy. Picked over by scrap-metal dealers and horror thirsty tourists, the city is almost totally devoid of evidence, the sole reminder of the dramatic past being the mud-made Red Fort drying away in the Kuwaiti sun.
0 comments:
Post a Comment