Kuwait: The Old Souk

I truly don't understand people when they say there is nothing to do here. That has not been my experience at all. There is much to do, it just requires going to do it. Perhaps people feel that their social life has been curtailed because there is a lack of pubs and no drinking culture--that I do understand. Going out drinking in other cultures, is viewed as "entertainment" and so not going out to drink--would indeed put a damper on one's social calendar! 
However, not being a drinker--I don't have to worry about that, and in fact am finding plenty to do here in KW. 
Case in point, my trip to the Souk ( old market). The people in the stalls were very friendly and congenial--and I truly enjoyed my experience trying to chat with them. All photos have been used with permission. Honest. ( of course I think they are used with permission--perhaps they agreed to something totally different, what with the language barrier and all) ha ha

As with most markets, the goods are arranged according to theme...if you want olives, for example, you dont need to go running around the whole market to try to find your olive stall. All the olive shops are conveniently located in the "olive aisle" ( just like at your local grocery store). I dont know what that does for price competition, but its worked for centuries and who am I to argue with that?

Butcher Alley:

I am an idiot for cutting this guys head off...but you get the picture. 
The butcher alley was amazingly clean and orderly, as you can see from the cleaning implements in the top photo. I have no idea what happens to all the meat they dont sell. 

Perfume and Gold Alleys:
If you have been a reading regular--you might have remembered reading  that scents are big here in the middle east. At the market there is a whole alley devoted to perfumes and smelly concoctions. Now--make no mistake--they sell your bog standard perfumes that you might see in Duty Free..but of more interest to me were the shops where you get to make your own scent choosing essential oils and spices ( or whatever they make perfume out of??). After you are done, the next bit of fun is to choose a lovely decanter, atomizer and attractive gift box. No wonder the wise men gave baby Jesus "Frankincense and Myrrh" I always thought it was a bit of a lame gift, but now...I understand. 

Maybe I will invent my signature scent before I leave KW? Hmmmm will ponder.

The Gold Alley--is, as one might expect full of shops selling...over the top pure BLING!!! 

Fish Alley:

I smelt fish alley long before I arrived in it. But thats ok--nothing wrong with that. Loved all the sea creatures....again--what happens to the fish that doesnt end up on the grill? 

This guy was descaling the fish--they had this handy dandy wire brush that really did a great job of sending the scales flying...but man--what a job. Wonder if they ever get the smell of fish out of their hands? and if not, does it bother them? 

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Teapot and useless enamel container Alley: 

This area cracked me up!  The photo below is a sampling of the many shops that sell exactly the same thing: Tea pots and enamel ware. How many of these pots can they possibly sell in one day?? And what's to make me choose Shop A over Shop B? The whole thing is a mystery to me....

Where I am going to have dinner on this week for sure!!:

In kind of the center of the market, there is a large open air courtyard. The courtyard is surrounded by cafes/restaurants all selling authentic Arabic food. 

These people are waiting for their meal. 

 Kudos to these guys below for letting me snap a picture of their meal. Hummous and vegetablesand "fool" a kind of warm bean concotion, eggs, flat bread...no cutlery--amazing!! Soooooo coming here one night!

All in all it was an amazing experience. I was not shopping so did not buy anything--but even so, I feel that to successfully navigate that minefield, I will have to bring along someone who speaks Arabic. Not a lot of English was spoken here ( and rightly so) so while price negotiating would not be a problem ( one can hold up the right number of fingers, after all) I do feel that getting exactly what you want, might be. ( see above comment on Signature Scents). Also--since the shops are largely empty- and the clerks are very insistent--it is pretty intimidating to start looking and seriously negotiating a deal, unless one means business. I will go back for all that--but for now, it was just a recognizance mission! 

Generally speaking though there was much less " Miss Miss, come look,come look" then in other countries from the same type of venue--India or Thailand for example.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!!!!!!