Welcome to Musings - The Loom Room Blog

On my last day in Kuwait, we visited the Al Hashemi II dhow which stands proudly on the waterline below the Radison SAS hotel.  Although the Maritime Museum was closed for a conference, we were able to wander over the dhow and take photographs.  It is a truly impressive structure.  You will get lots of information about the building of the dhow, and its two sister ships, through the web link at the top of the blog. 

As you can see, I like to take more unusual angles and this one through the deck canopy to the mast and rigging really appealed. 

There were some amazing ropes and coils of ropes.  I won’t bore you by putting all my images up but this will give you an idea of the size and complexity of the ropes.

This is the view from the top deck towards the stern.  The dhow reminds me strongly of the galleons of Elizabethan times, and is the sort of image that comes to mind for pirate ships in old stories, and the vessel in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis, an old favourite of mine and one of the Chronicles of Narnia - a wonderful series of children’s books that I read and re-read even now!  I didn’t know that there was a film version of the book until very recently, so will have to watch it now! 

The wheel which you can just see on the left foreground here is huge - larger than me and I’m 5′ 8″.  It might help you to get an idea of the scale of the vessel.  There are men working on the deck caulking on the mid-deck to the right.

The attention to detail on board this vessel is meticulous.  These are the cabin roof joists in the stern below decks.  They are hand-gilded. 

The rooflights in the main cabin are beautiful, standing proud of the top deck. 

I couldn’t get my images of the ballroom, which is located in the belly of the boat, to do justice to the space, so I hope you will find images on the hotel website which will compensate.  However, these are the doors leading from the lobby into the ballroom and to me they have an Egyptian feel to them.  Beautiful and elegant.

Here’s a closeup so you can see the detailing.

Well, that’s all I had time for.  I hope to go back one day, if I’m invited, and would encourage you to visit if ever you are in that part of the world.  I had a wonderful time and met some wonderful women.  The Kuwait Textile Art Association is a diverse group of people and very welcoming.

Welcome to part 2 of my photos of Kuwait. 

I was only there for a few days, and a few of the museums Patricia and I went to visit were shut.  The one I’m really sorry about was the Tareq Rajab Museum.  If I ever get back to Kuwait, which I sincerely hope I will, then that is at the top of my visit list!! 

The first of my images today is of the Liberation Tower.  A communications tower which was started before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, but remained remarkably undamaged.  It was completed after the liberation of Kuwait and is a landmark in the city.  A Google search will bring up some lovely images, but here is mine!

The next image is a minaret that is just outside Sadu House and I thought it was rather attractive!

The next stop was the Museum of Modern Art.  An unassuming place, situated in what looks like a derelict area, with the new Maritime Museum (only just opening) across the way, it was previously a boys’ school, and later a girls’ school before it acquired its current status.  It had an exhibition of a Norwegian artist’s work which was very vibrant, as well as its own purchased works of Arabic and figurative art, and many sculptures in the courtyard.  I wasn’t sure if it was permitted to photograph the paintings, so I took the safe option and didn’t.  However, the sculptures were ok….

 This inner sculpture courtyard had some lovely pieces in it, which are shown below.

I loved this piece, with its hands as molars set into a huge bottom mandible!

This was one of several pieces exploring the tension of trying to escape from confined boxes.   Very powerful images.

This was one of several sculptures in both bronze and wood, of Arab figures with no features but which convey the nature of the Bedouin and their timelessness.  Very contemplative.

This is the outer courtyard where the administration offices and the guest suite is located. 

Then it was off to Kuwait Towers, the iconic water towers that are always shown whenever Kuwait features in the news. 

These two water towers dominate the sea front at this part of the coastline.  Kuwait sweeps round pretty much a 90 degree angle at this point, and the Towers are on the edge of the corner, so they have a big vantage point.  The pinnacle houses the lighting system for the two towers. 

This angle made me reflect on Mandelbrot’s fractal of the Gingerbread Man.  If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, google Mandelbrot, or fractals and you’ll come up with some stunning images!  The Gingerbread Man is one of the fractal shapes that recur time and again….

This image was taken from the revolving observation platform towards the top of the larger tower.  Although the glass was somewhat murky (all that dust), there is a lot of atmospheric dust in the area, and I loved the looming look of this office building which I’ve nicknamed the CheeseStraw, or should that be Cheese Twist?   It looks like a brooding sculpture!

In the evening, we were heading to the old souq when I caught sight of this reflection of the sunset in an office building, and as we were stopped at traffic lights, I used the opportunity to capture it. 

This sails sculpture in the sunken centre of a large pedestrian underpass leading towards the old souq is a water feature.  A beautiful piece of public art.   

Finally, we dropped in to the Al Hashemi 2 Maritime Museum, which was shut, but the boat was beautifully lit. 

On Sunday, I’ll post the remaining photos of the Al Hashemi 2 which has a very interesting story….. In the meantime, Saturday is Midlands Textile Forum’s regular quarterly Babble & Dabble Day!  So I look forward to seeing some of you there!