Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rarebit. But if scones and cucumber sandwiches beckon, choose from a Yorkshire tea with
fruit cake, or a Royal Windsor tea with smoked salmon.
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK
Kuwait has long been known for its fine natural harbour but, like so many places in the Middle East, it is chronic-
ally short of water. Indeed, from 1907 until 1950, traders had to buy fresh water from the Shatt al-Arab waterway
near Bubiyan Island, at the head of the Gulf, and ship it by dhow to Kuwait. The trade peaked in 1947 when it
was estimated that 303,200L of water per day was arriving in Kuwait by boat - thankfully the country didn't have
a golf course.
Early investment of oil revenues into the search for ground water was unsuccessful, but the country's first de-
salination plant in 1950 signalled the end of the sea trade in water. An exorbitant way to acquire fresh water, de-
salination nonetheless satisfies the country's huge thirst for water, which (according to some local water resource
experts) has grown to the highest consumption of water in the world.
Natural resources are precious and, as every Bedouin knows (and any mid-summer visitor can guess at), water
in the desert is far more valuable than oil. In Kuwait, it's also more expensive.
Entertainment
In the absence of bars, entertainment in the city is pretty much confined to shopping and
dining, although film and theatre are popular with locals. Check Bazaar (
www.bazaar-
magazine.com
)
for '
What's On'
and '
Where'
.
Cinemas
Considering its size, Kuwait has an overwhelming number of cinemas, which unfortu-
nately show the same films (usually heavily edited to exclude kissing, nudity and sex - vi-
olence, however, is left uncensored). The more popular and modern of the cinemas are in
the malls, such as at Sharq Souq (
Click here
)
and in the
Al-Fanar Shopping Complex
OFFLINE MAP
( 2575 9306; Salem Mubarak St, Salmiya)
.
Cinemas are run by the
Kuwait National Cinema Company
( 2461 0545, 24hr service 180 3456;
www.kncc.com
;
cinema admission KD2.500-KD5; 10am-midnight Sat-Thu, 2pm-midnight Fri)
and single
men are segregated from women and families. Women are not expected to go to the
cinema alone.
Theatre
Arabic theatre has enjoyed a long history in Kuwait, dating back to 1922 when the first
amateur plays were performed, and are highly popular with Arab audiences.
