Heritage
Gufl, Mikhnaira and Saksooka: The Shapes of a Beard at the Old Kuwaiti Barber
A boy sat on a wooden chair placed on the seat, and the disinfectant was cheap cologne.
Heritage
Kuwait before oil: the city, the people, the trades and the houses.
Kuwait One, once a week.
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Heritage
Al Kharafi: An Only Surviving Son, and Six Months Minding Another Man’s Shop in Karachi
When the science faculty burned in 1987 he paid to repair it and the students went back. Fifty years earlier he was a boy moving between commercial schools in Aden.
Heritage
Kaws, Suhaili and Anashi: Every Wind Has Its Own Name in Kuwaiti Speech
Winter's sabbara, the donkey heat of summer, the blaze of August, and a sailors' proverb saying each breeze has its sail.
Heritage
Chraimba and the Omani Fold: Every Way of Wearing the Ghutra Had a Name
The Najafi bisht is woven by hand from sheep's wool, and the Dawraki comes from Iran and is prized for being light.
Heritage
Kout Bosta: Six Players, Nine Cards, and Whoever Misjudges Is Charged Double
The game ends at a hundred and one, and reaching fifty-one while your opponent has nothing wins it outright.
Heritage
The Khudhairi: A Bird That Hunts Bees, and the Yardstick for a Green Thobe
The warwar to people in the Levant, a spring visitor over Kuwait, and loved by everyone except whoever keeps hives.
Heritage
Afternoon Tea: A Sitting After the Prayer, Where the Melon Was Cut on the Father’s Word
A counted set of sweets on the tray, and talk of work, of the neighbours, and of what would be served that evening.
Heritage
The Neighbour’s Naqsa: A Dish That Came Full Does Not Go Back Empty
The woman of the house cooked more than her family needed on purpose, and some houses opened a door in the wall for the neighbour.
Heritage
The Daya: A Trade With No Names Kept, and Usually Paid in Prayers
She called for hot water at the top of her voice, said her work carried danger, and the whole house heard her.
Heritage
Yiqit: The Spring Paste You Judge by Its Colour and Its Smoothness
Very white and very smooth is suspect, and anything appearing out of season is more suspect still.
Heritage
Violet Dickson Landed in Kuwait in 1929 and Stayed Sixty-One Years
The agency house dissolved a little after every winter, until a Persian builder shored up its foundation with coral rock from the sea.
Heritage
9 April 1930: Fifty Men Elected Twelve, and Kuwait Had Its First Vote
A municipal council funded by half a per cent on goods, run from a small room in the souq, and its first job was roads and doorsteps.
