Kuwait Towers
I was going to cover my visit to Kuwait in one post, but too many things just leaped out and demanded their own space. So first out: Kuwait Towers.
30-year-old Kuwait Towers is probably the best known landmark on the Arabian Penisula. Outside Dubai, that is. Designed by Scandinavians, and comprising two large spheres and a spike, the towers are surely Kuwait’s top attraction.
My first proper look at Kuwait Towers is through the windows of Le Notre, a French cafe along Arabian Gulf Road; in itself a cool building, all purple, steel and glass with a semi-circular terrace facing the Gulf. An apricot granita, a pear/roquefort/walnut salad and a croquant ice cream later, I’m so full I decide to walk along the beach to the towers. A good decision it turns out - this must surely be the best approach.
Interesting sights along the way:
From below, the spheres look very cool, all blue and earthy:
Kuwait Towers has a restaurant, the Ofok in the lower sphere. I skip that and take the lift up to 120th floor instead. Along the wall by the staircase to 121st floor, is a series of photos depicting the damage done during the Iraqi occupation in the early 1990s.
Up the stairs to the 121st floor, I walk behind a very veiled woman who has difficulty climbing. To avoid tumbling, she is supported by one man on each arm.
As I stand at a table, the observation platform rotates ever so slowly. Whenever I look up from my note book and Diet Coke (included in the 2 KD entrance fee), the view has changed slightly, both outwards and inwards. Cool, that.
The middle sphere is used for water storage, while the third tower, the sphereless one provides light to illuminate the monument.
After a while, I’m joined by a man, the only other westerner here. A journo from a Central European country, he is there to cover the issue of the Bedoo. ‘The Bedouins?’ I ask. Not quite. The Bedoo are Kuwait’s stateless people; no passports, no freedom of movement. I have never heard of the Bedoo before. Seems I have to do some research myself. Amnesty, perhaps?
Tags: Al Kuwayt, Arabian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, Blogsherpa, desert, Gulf War, Kuwait, Kuwait City, Middle East, Persian Gulf, Travel
