Having a great time in Kuwait!

[Paul Meisenheimer]

Someone told me I should go somewhere warm with a sand beach for my vacation. Kuwait is pretty much all beach so here we are. It has been a week and we have seen and done a few interesting things.
I spent the day today up north near the Iraq border on a small vegetable farm It was about 50 acres and had row upon row of greenhouses. The owner explained he gets his water from three sources depending on the use. He has deep wells where he gets brackish water, he uses processed waste water from the city for the plants that don't tolerate the salt and he has "sweet water" trucked in for human consumption. It is amazing to see what a person can create in a desert with a little water and a lot of vision.

 

[Kevin Weir]

Paul,
It is interesting indeed that the desert can blossum with just a little water. Most people don't realize that the Nile at one time had such great waterfowling that royalty from Europe made annual trips there just for the shooting. Stay safe.

 

[Paul Meisenheimer]

I am amazed by what I am seeing. Kuwait is certainly a place of stark contrasts; a desert country on the edge of a sea. Their history is closely tied to the sea and they are very proud of their sailing heritage. I have pictures of the various wooden boats and ships that the pearl divers and traders used for centuries. Unfortunately since the discovery of oil it is a tradition that has been lost. Many of the boats I saw were constructed by a builder who passed away in 1998. Apparently he was the last of his trade.
I will post up some photos when I get home in another week. They are not duckboats but interesting all the same.

 

[Bob B]

Paul,
Interesting. Are you there for work or church?
Very interested in those boats. My father was a history major so my sister and I had to take a lot of it in school. Western Civilazation was a big part of that.

Stay safe.

Bob

 

[Al Hansen]

I will look forward to all those pictures to look at when you get home, Paul. The secret recipe for growing anything in the desert is "Add Water". It is amazing. Take care.
Al

 

[Paul Meisenheimer]

://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q199/pmeis/2012%20Kuwait/IMG_5283.jpg

 

[Eric Dellamater]

paul,
thanks for the pictures.

I look forward to more of them in the future. it really is crazy how so many different style boats were built around the world with minimal tools available.

couple of months back, Wooden Boat magazine had a spread on boats from Southeast Asia, looked similar to the construction of that boat on the right, big beams, heavy, but solid.

Get home safe.

 

[Paul Meisenheimer]

Thanks Eric. We fly to the UK in the morning and back to Canada on Saturday. It has been a fantastic two weeks. The people are wonderfully hospitable, the culture interesting, and the scenery amazing. I have traveled a lot of places in the world and this is one of the safest. Add to that the fact that they are very appreciative of all the folks who helped liberate the country 21 years ago. Liberation day celebrations are set for February 25.
I have been told that the boats here were heavily influenced by the builders in India. Until oil became the industry of the area in the last 60 years, Kuwait's coast was the scene of fishing, pearl diving and trading with India. 6 months of pearl diving, a month at home, 6 months out and back from India, a month off and repeat. This went on for over 300 years. Most of the historic artifacts are Indian or "Mughal".