Eid al-Adha

Wikipedia: Eid al-Adha  ("Festival of the Sacrifice"), is the second of two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year, and considered the holier of the two. It honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son, as an act of submission to God's command, before God then intervened sending his angel Jibra'il (Gabriel) to inform him that his sacrifice had already been accepted. The meat from the sacrificed animal is divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

Kuwait is divided into governorates (we might consider them counties) and each of them has a "co-op society" that provides goods and services to the areas within the governorate.  For Eid al-Adha, it was determined that 14 temporary butcher shops would be established to meet the needs of the sacrifices.  Unfortunately, some people still took it upon themselves to do their own.  This picture was taken by a friend in the neighboring block:

Don't look too closely at this picture.  Please.

In the Islamic lunar calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and lasts for four days until the 13th day. In the international (Gregorian) calendar, the dates vary from year to year drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year. <Heather's note: these dates and timings vary by country, as well.  Saudi Arabia announced a 12 day holiday starting Sept 6th, Kuwait was 9 days starting the 9th, Turkey was also 9 days, but started the 10th, and Pakistan was only 3 days starting the 12th>

Eid al-Adha is the latter of the two Eid holidays, the former being Eid al-Fitr. The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the meaning "solemn festival".

Like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a prayer of two rakats followed by a sermon (khutbah). Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the descent of the Hujjaj (the pilgrims performing the Hajj) from Mount Arafat , a hill east of Mecca. Eid sacrifice <emphasis mine> may take place until sunset on the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. The days of Eid have been singled out in the Hadith as "days of remembrance" and considered the holiest days in the Islamic Calendar. 

So, the boys started school on Sept 4th.  On Sept 5th, I received this message:

5^th September 2016

Dear Parents,

Eid Al-Adha Holiday

I am writing to confirm, as per the Civil Services Commission directive that the Eid Al-Adha holiday will be from Sunday, 11th September until Thursday, 15th September inclusive. TES will therefore be closed from the end of the school day on Thursday of this week and reopen on Sunday, 18th September. 

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and relaxing holiday - Eid Mubarak.

Best wishes,

Kieron Peacock

Headmaster

I needed the Serenity Prayer after that announcement.  After weeks of boredom, anxiety, stress, the boys were finally in school and enjoying it and then they announce they are closing for a week????  Are you kidding me???

I did a quick search to see if we could go somewhere (anywhere) to take advantage of the break, but while there were flights out of Kuwait there were no seats available on any flight to get back into Kuwait before Sept 21.  So, we were just going to have to tough it out here at home again.

We made the most of the week by taking advantage of the fact that Ian had a few days off, as well.  We had dinner and game nights with friends, we shopped at Ikea (OK, maybe I'm the only one that enjoyed that), we went ice skating again, we went to the aquarium, we even spent a day at a water park.

Jamie enjoying the large tank at the aquarium

Jamie enjoying a post-aquarium slushee

Braden enjoying his post-aquarium slushee

Gavin post enjoyment of his post-aquarium PinkBerry

The slides!!!

Jamie and buddies on the slides

Gavin on another slide

Gavin being silly at bowling

The Grand Mosque

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of touring The Grand Mosque of Kuwait.  This particular tour was conducted by a woman, Iman (not to be confused with an Imam), who works for an organization called the AWARE Center (Advocates for Western-Arab Relations).  We found the tour to be informative and enjoyable (although very hot as we were covered from head to toe) and the architecture beautiful.

We do enjoy the opportunity to learn about the culture here and how intrinsic religion is to their culture - there is no separation of church and state here.  They cannot even fathom how (or why) we do it.  However, they are far more tolerant of the idea of Christianity, then I have seen our country be of Islam in recent times.  That doesn't mean they allow lots churches to be built (there are a few), nor do they seem to acknowledge many other religions beyond Christianity, but I do not fear for my safety as a non-Muslim.  I wish I could say the same in our own country. On the school forms, religion was asked with three options (Muslim, Christian, Other).

There were some interesting explanations (justifications) for many of the traditions, but Iman stressed throughout the tour that many were simply choices or practicalities.  (Abayas, for example, were described as "shade" or wearing your own "tent." It seems to me, though, that black isn't the most practical color for this purpose.)

(from Wikipedia) The Grand Mosque of Kuwait spans 480,000 sq ft, out of which the building itself covers 220,000 sq ft.  The main prayer hall is 236 ft wide on all sides and has 144 windows for light and can hold abut 11,000 people inside.

Gorgeous stained glass chandeliers around the outside of the main building/prayer hall.

Interior view of the prayer hall. 3 of the 4 support columns.

Ceiling detail

 While separation of the sexes is done during prayers (men in front, women in back), woman have the choice of going to a separate, private, upstairs hall.  This hall holds about 950 and you can see out through the lattice work, but not in.

It was explained that due to prayers being very physical (standing, kneeling, bowing), they don't want the men to be distracted by looking at the backsides of women.  Apparently, women are able to multi-task without getting distracted.

View of the private ladies prayer hall overlooking the main prayer hall.

Looking up into the dome.

Getting the best view of the dome.

Braden in the imam's chair

Jamie's turn

Gavin's turn.

the Koran

Ice Skating in the Desert

One of the more reasonably priced and cool activities is ice skating (1.5 Kuwaiti Dinar for 90 minutes - basically $5 a person, including skate rental).  So after being inspired by our attendance at the "professional" hockey game, we decided to hit the rink a couple of Friday mornings.  Ian was travelling that night, so he didn't skate.  He was concerned about potential injury, so he was our photographer.  I gave him a bit of a hard time, so karma got me the next outing.

The first week was uneventful, everyone had fun and after a few trips around with the frame, they were able to do it on their own.  We even had a coach (trying to drum up business for himself, no doubt) key in on Gavin.  He is convinced that Gavin could be an amazing skater.  I agree, but he's so shy he didn't want to work one on one with the coach.  Don't worry, I hope to keep going enough to get him comfortable enough to agree.

 I have to admit that the second week's attempt was not as successful, at least not for me. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of the second week, but everyone was skating without frames and doing a fantastic job.  Remember my comment above about karma?  Well, after about an hour of skating, I decided to sit down on the ice.  I don't remember why, maybe I was tired?  Anyway, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I decided to sit down on the ice --- hard.  So hard, in fact, that my upper body whiplashed back and I cracked my head against the ice.  I never lost consciousness, but it was hard enough that I earned my second trip to Al Seef hospital.  This time for a CT scan.  Fortunately, I didn't do any major damage, but definitely had a concussion.

And, yes, I have purchased a helmet for myself for any further ice skating adventures.

Ice Hockey in the Desert

One of our favorite things about living overseas is doing things that are a bit out of the ordinary.  The Kuwait Touristic Enterprises heard that there was a US National Guard Battalion from Minnesota stationed at a nearby base, so they asked if they wanted to participate in a "tournament."  Always up for a game regardless of skill or experience, the Army National Guard said yes and thus the Inagural Desert Classic was born.

Prior to the start of the games there were photo ops, and singing of both national anthems.

Then the Kuwait team unfurled this banner:

There were three teams from the US (White Knights, Blue Lines and Crimson Tide) and the Kuwait International team.  There were 3 games of 2 20-minute periods. First game was the White Knights (US) vs. Blue Lines (US) and it was tied at the end of regulations with the Blue Lines winning in a shootout.  The second game was the Kuwait National team vs. Crimson Tide and it wasn't even close; Kuwait won 8-0.  The final game was the winner of the first game vs. the winner of the second game, so Blue Lines v. Kuwait.  It was after 9PM, so we didn't stay, but I understand that Kuwait won 15-0.  We found out later that it was televised live on Kuwaiti TV and apparently we were on camera.  Might have to check out YouTube to see if it is out there.  :)

Here is a video clip about the event from the Army National Guard's Facebook Page: Army Video

One of the highlights of the evening was Gavin making friends with some local boys by meowing.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Every time someone tried to talk to him, he would meow in response.  They thought he was HILARIOUS.

Activities

While it is too hot to get out and around town to do too much exploring, we have been getting out and about a bit.  Here are some pictures from a few of our outings.

We had the unexpected pleasure of meeting and speaking to US Navy Astronaut, Barry E. "Butch" Wilmore.  He showed us the most incredible video of his time on the International Space Station.  The boys were fascinated, they remembered being in a friend's backyard earlier this summer and watching the ISS pass overhead.

Huge thanks to American300.org and ArmedForcesEntertainment.com for bringing Butch to visit us at the Embassy.

Gavin wanted to know if they had tacos on the moon.

The boys have been taking swim lessons with SwimAmerica at the Qadsiya Sporting Club.  Gorgeous Olympic quality facility that hasn't really been kept up, but the boys love that they let them jump off the diving boards.

Gavin contemplating the 1m platform

The boys all contemplating the 5m platform (yes 15ft above the water)

I wasn't able to capture a picture, but Braden did jump off the 5m platform several times.  All the boys jumped off the 1m and 3m with no hesitation.

Gavin jumping off the 3m springboard

Chilling at the Radisson Blu hotel pool.

One of the women I met at the Embassy volunteers several times a week at the Amricani Cultural Centre.

"The graceful buildings facing the sea in Kuwait City reflect the commitment to community in the country’s past and future.  From medical buildings to cultural facilities, the buildings that make up the Amricani Cultural Centre have served the people of Kuwait since the late 1930s.  Originally built as the American hospitals for women and men, the buildings incorporated arched verandas that were visually appealing, conducive to socialization, and provided ventilation and cooling breezes in the warm summer months.  As hospitals, the buildings served Kuwait for almost thirty years.  Today, the buildings continue to serve the community.  The former women’s hospital is the temporary home of the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah administrative offices and the library.  The larger building, originally the men’s hospital, is a training museum that includes two current exhibitions, Splendors of the Ancient East: Antiquities from the al-Sabah Collection and Story of Amricani, and temporary exhibition space.  There is also an education wing, a conservation lab, and a theatre. Since it opened as a cultural centre in November 2011, the Amricani is once again alive with visitors. Conversations will waft down from the verandas, as people explore art and culture exhibitions from around the world and future Kuwaiti museum specialists begin their training."

The Amricani

Kids listening to "Beautiful Oops"

Waiting for their "oops"

Gavin's Butterfly

Braden's Stingray

Jamie's Egyptian Pyramid