Failika Island Tour- Part 3

On our way to the restaurant for lunch we made a stop by the graveyard for vehicles destroyed during the invasion.

 Dr. Ashlanani showed me his collection of identification cards left by the Iraqi soldiers

 The village area where the restaurant was located, there was a sheesha place, Baskin Robbins and a snack place there as well

 One of the schools destroyed during the invasion

 Ikaros Hotel

 I am in love with this old door that includes the original knocker

 Another unique cafe

Our boat arrives to takes us back....

Makeup vs. No Makeup

Hey guys.....remember behind all of the contour, highlights, fake hair and eyelashes lies another face. The wedding night must be a scary thing to think about!

Failika Island Tour led by Dr. Hasan Ashkhanani- Part 2

As a lover of history and archaeology this was an amazing trip for me and having Dr. Ahskanani was an added bonus as he knows all about the sites, he is an amazing guy, I could listen to him speak about the history of Kuwait all day.

We approached the closed off area leading to the historical sites, after a few minutes of making sure we had access the buses rumbled down the path to our destination.

We came to our first site- the Dilmun civilization

"In 2000 B.C., Mesopotamians settled in Failaka at least a century before the Dilmun civilization. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur occupied Failaka and ran a mercantile business. Failaka had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 B.C."link link2

I got to hold some of the rare coins found at the site, it was amazing holding the coins and imagining who else held them before me.

This house was built on part of the site in 1920 by Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah

The house is built on top of more sites which makes it difficult to excavate

Our next stop was the Hellenistic site

"At some point following Alexander the Great's initial advance through the region in 331 BC or in the period 324/3 BC when he returned to Mesopotamia, the ancient Greeks colonized the island, which they named Ikaros after the Greek island in the Aegean Sea and the mythical hero Icarus, apparently in the belief that the island had a similar shape of its Aegean counterpart. Some elements of Greek mythology were mixed with the local cults."Ikaros" was also the name of a prominent city situated in Failaka. Remains of the settlement include a large Hellenistic fort and two Greek temples.

Take a look at the 1 dinar note and you will see where the inspiration came from

Due to red tape, greed and other monetary factors the site is not getting the attention it deserves, I know the stories (UNESCO rejection etc.) but I won't divulge them, I don't need the trouble for speaking the truth. All in all it was a one of a kind experience and I enjoyed it so much.

Kuwaiti police officer dies in Accident

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 28: A first sergeant of the Interior Ministry died when his vehicle toppled on Mitlaa Motorway. The remains were taken to Forensics for autopsy. It is noteworthy the photo of the deceased officer went viral on social media last year while he was giving water to a thirsty cat. Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti citizen and an expatriate were admitted to the Intensive care Unit of Jahra Hospital following a traffic accident on Leyah Motorway in Salmi area. They were referred to hospital via air ambulance.  He was talked about last year link when he gave water to a kitten in the summer, may his soul rest in peace.

We all need to slow down and take in the surroundings, you never know when it will be your last view of this world.

American School fees in Kuwait 2015

MoE sets American schools’ fees at KD 1,600-7,000

KUWAIT: The education ministry’s private education directorate set the fees to be collected at various American schools operating in Kuwait for the 2015-2016 school year (from kindergarten to high school) at KD 1,653-7,000 per student. Private education director Abdullah Al-Basri issued a memo explaining the details of fees to be collected by the 10 American schools in Kuwait per student in all four educational stages. The details showed that fees at American Private School were KD 3,123 for the first and second levels of kindergarten, KD 4,059 for primary stage, KD 4,370 for intermediate and KD 4,893 for the secondary stage.

Basri said fees at the American International School would be KD 2,498 for junior kindergarten, KD 2,706 for senior KG, KD 3,645 for primary, KD 3,851 for intermediate and KD 4,271 for secondary stages. He added that fees at Universal American School would be KD 2,003 for first level kindergarten, KD 2,484 for the second level, KD 3,324 for primary, KD 3,523 for intermediate and KD 3,727 for secondary stages. Fees at the American Academy for Girls would be KD 2,293 for first level kindergarten, KD 2,601 for the second level, KD 3,331 for primary, KD 3,602 for intermediate and KD 4,002 for secondary stages. Fees at the American Creativity Academy for boys would be KD 2,287 for first and second levels of kindergarten, KD 3,325 for primary, KD 3,752 for intermediate and KD 4,256 for secondary stages.

Basri said fees at Kuwait American School would be KD 1,655 for first level kindergarten, KD 1,841 for the second level, KD 2,767 for primary, KD 2,950 for intermediate and KD 3,278 for secondary stages. Fees at the Atakamul International School would be KD 1,653 for first and second levels of kindergarten, KD 2,698 for primary, KD 2,870 for intermediate and KD 3,044 for secondary stages. Fees at the International Creativity Academy would be KD 2,287 for first and second levels of kindergarten and KD 3,325 for primary. Fees at American Bilingual School would be KD 2,435 for first and second levels of kindergarten, KD 3,617 for primary, KD 3,911 for intermediate and KD 4,245 for secondary stages.

Basri highlighted that the highest fees would be collected by the American United School, where first and second levels of kindergarten cost KD 5,000 each, KD 6,000 for primary and KD 7,000 for the intermediate stages. – Al-Rai

Holy Crap those fees are high! 7,000 KD for intermediate? What will they charge for secondary? American schools are out of control! It's not like they get a Harvard education.

Bad English

Please wait? Please weigh? Please use spell check

 I hate when those little bastards try to escape from under the seat!! hahaha

So many mistakes, so little time!

Failika Island trip led by Dr. Hasan Ashkanani- Part 1

Finally after almost twelve years of living in Kuwait I visited Failika (Failicha) Island with a group led by Dr. Hasan Ashkanani (@has_ashkanani), assistant professor of anthropology and archaeology at Kuwait University. Dr. Hasan invited me and I knew I would get hands on information about the archaeological sites. It's almost impossible to visit the sites unless you are granted special permission and even that permission can be revoked at any second.

There were 30+ people attending the trip by private boat as the usual boat he uses was due for maintenance and what an adventure it turned out to be! The trip was 1 hour and 15 mins to the island and the sea was a bit rough.

 There were some cabins downstairs for the lucky few who wanted to relax

 It was freezing and as you can see the sea was brown from the rough waves churning the ocean floor

 Finally we spotted land

 The captain decided to dock the boat away from the island and thought it was a good idea to take the dingy to the island. I opted out of the first trip as I wanted to be sure it would work. Well, the people made it to the beach but unfortunately the dingy took on water and was unable to be saved at that point. We waited almost an hour for someone to bring a boat to save us, finally another boat came and took us to the port. That's when I discovered I had left my internet router on the boat, no snapchat for me.

 The police/navy? guys came to see what the heck we were doing, I guess we did look rather suspicious.

 We made it to the buses and our first stop was to the masjid where I found this lovely old building

I'm not real sure what it was used for but I wish I had one to relax in.

This will be a 3 part series of posts, there was so much to see and take in that one post wouldn't do justice.