Kuwait City: Souking It All In

Let me set the scene: Just finished a long day of work and I’m looking out my window at the Arabian Gulf, listening to the melodious sound of Azaan from a nearby mosque while feeling the dusty, dry breeze float through my window.

I have been in Kuwait City just a few days now and it has been such an interesting experience! First impressions? 43C doesn’t feel as bad as I thought it would because it’s dry heat. The offices/hotels/shops are air conditioned to the max, so I have to go outside a few times a day to warm my bones. The souk smells of spiced meets, feels of dusty heat, and sounds like an Amr Diab CD. I keep looking for those mysterious Bedouin beauties with kohl rimmed eyes that I thought I would see. None in sight – seems I’ll have to make a trip to the desert to meet the mysterious wandering nomadic desert dwellers. Unfortunately it won’t happen this time! Ah well, will save the Bedouins and the camels for another trip to the Middle East.

The majority of my time outside of work has been spent eating amazing food and exploring the Old Souk. The food here is truly wonderful – the meats are spiced to perfection and the lamb is incredible! The seafood is fresh and plentiful – just polished off a lobster at dinner. And of course can’t forget the fresh dates for breakfast, hummus, baba ghanoush, and baklava for dessert! My favorite discovery though has to be the “Minty Lemon” – a concoction of lemon juice and crushed mint. A few of those will really hit you…and if you need something stronger there are always Red Bull mocktails!

The Souk Al Mubarakiya (aka the Old Souk) is a good time pass – full of shawls, trinkets, Aladdin lamps (yes I had to buy one for my future bookshelf, but unfortunately the genie was not included), bangles, and traditional clothing like Ghutra/Egals. Spending Dinars is easy because 1 KD is approximately equal to 4 USD. Before you know it, you have no more money left! You THINK you just spent ten dollars but really you spent 40. Oops! If you ever do come here, skip walking through the fish market – fish guts all over the floor and the stench stays is your nostrils (and on your new shoes) forever. Instead, take a tour through the meat market. 10 steps will make you vegetarian! In either case, there is an area we lovingly call “Misty Garden” which is right in the middle of the souk with amazing local food and water misters everywhere. Perfect way to end off a trip to the souk!

Working in this country has been so eye opening in terms of understanding how to do business in a global context. It is completely different. Things that we take for granted in Canada do not exist here. Social and cultural norms guide practices, and to do business here you have to navigate a complicated and tricky structure with different rules for different people. It really makes you appreciate the infrastructure that we have in Canada, because although there is a lot of money in this country it’s not necessarily spent on the things that we would consider priority. Other key learnings: always have toilet paper and hand sanitizer on you, do not chew gum (it’s considered rude), and do not shake a man’s hand unless he offers his hand first! There are so many more learnings and cultural idiosyncrasies – too many to list. But all in all, it’s been absolutely fascinating.

A few days left in Kuwait city – off to bed I go for an early start tomorrow morning! Tosbeheena ‘ala khair!



Souk Al Mubarakiya




Mosque Near the Old Souk




Fish Guts




I was born for this weather




Food + Minty Lemon at Misty Garden




Amazing Seafood Resto by the Kuwait Towers




Dinner