You want tvs, stoves, cabinets and countertops?? Friday Market GOT YOU! You want watches, sunglasses, purses and bags?? Friday Market GOT YOU! You want custom made clothing of any kind or just yards and yards of fabric?? Friday Market GOT YOU! You want socks, shoes, dresses or jewelry?? Friday Market GOT YOU! You want dishes, pots, pans, tools, furniture, cushions, toys, filters, perfume or paintings?? Friday Market GOT YOU! You want a pink or green baby chick or a baby bunny in a dress?? FRIDAY MARKET GOTTTT YOUUUUU!!!!
Friday Market was everything I thought it would be and more than I wanted to see. This place is in the middle of the desert and tables and tables of products line walk ways for what seems like miles! Because it’s outside the sellers are constantly brushing dust and sand off the items with a big brush that looks a bit like a broom… Only to fly up in the air and land on their other items or those of their neighbor… ANYTHING you would possibly buy in a store can be found at the Friday Market (which is actually open on Thurs as well). We browsed for hours and totally got turned around like 5 times. The only thing I really wanted was a rug, they’re freakin MASSIVE and surprisingly affordable! Once we move into our place we’ll make the trip back out there to pick up our dusty ginormous treasure. There are peeps with wheelbarrows that follow you around waiting for you to buy more than you can carry hoping to make a little money by hauling it back to your car. I saw men carrying couches stacked four feet high with cushions on their BACKS… The whole place really is a sight to see… There was one area that we didn’t visit though – on purpose, actually… and that was the animal market. We did venture out to see the birds and bunnies but I was told if I was an animal lover NOT to go see the dogs/pets.
The birds were loud, dirty and in cages that were either round or square. The birds in the round cages continuously ran in circles, squawking, screaming and flapping their wings. When I say birds, I mean fowl: chicken, roosters, ducks, doves, turkeys, geese, eagles, and any bird you would otherwise want to own as a pet or take home for supper. There were some that were so crowded in the cages that others were being trampled. The birds in square cages pecked at each other and you could see several areas on their bodies where feathers no longer grew b/c of the scarring. Seeing the birds caged up was enough to convince me that I wouldn’t be able to handle seeing the pups… I’ve only heard stories about how terrible the conditions are and they’re enough to make you tear up. They had baby chicks and bunnies in the area that we were at. The chicks had been dipped in food coloring and looked like a handful of tropical skittles in their little cages. They huddled together and didn’t move much, same with the bunnies – who were clothed in dresses or little tops and bloomers. I picked up one of the bunnies that wasn’t caged and it just clung to my hand, I asked the man how old they were and he confirmed they were only weeks old… MUCH too young to be taken from their mommas!
I’m not sure why they dye the animals, but my reasoning is that children will see them and beg for their favorite color. They do this with the dogs too. And how am I supposed to resist a poor dehydrated little purple puppy???? We all agreed that we had seen enough and we headed back towards the car… on our way out we passed several dead animals that had been tossed from their cages and left to rot in the desert. A little boy that couldn’t have been more than 11 or 12 sat under a tree holding a rooster by its wings while he squawked about and kicked his clawed feet. He was smoking a cigarette and had a big scratch down his nose, dangerously close to his eye; that was bleeding. I couldn’t imagine living the life of some of the children that grow up around the markets, the things they’ve seen! Most of them are Bedouins and live in tents in the desert, breeding animals and selling them in various markets. We didn’t go look at any of the other animals they had, but there are sheep, goats and many others available for purchase.
After walking around in the hot sun for so many hours, I went ahead and shed my sweater. I decided if I offended someone that much they could just come right up and tell me… no one did, but I caught some stares, well worth it.
I’ve been looking for a pumice stone for a while now, in my opinion, they should hand you one immediately upon landing in Kuwait. Everyone here wears sandals and no one seems to care that their heels are cracking and dry!? I finally found one and could not WAIT to get home and use it! I had no idea that while using this treasure I would experience a very real brush with death. Let me just note that I don’t even use the hot water here, the ‘cold' water is hot enough right now so I shower with the faucet on ‘cold’. While I was showering Peter was outside by the pool enjoying a cup of coffee and some shisha with our neighbor and one of his coworkers. I was really taking my time and enjoying the pumice on heel action when I lost my footing… I threw the stone in the air and wildly began flapping my arms in order to regain my balance. I swear this all happened in slow motion (again, a GREAT place to insert some background music). I grasped on to the shower curtain and hugged it tight. I slid down the curtain slowly and was able to regain my footing before we had noggin to porcelain contact. WHEWWWWW!!!! Two things went through my mind: (1) That is sooooome shower curtain! It’s made of fabric and it did tear a bit where it’s suspended from the rod, but it held my weight! (2) I am never showering without Peter IN the apartment again!
That makes me so sad about all the animals at the market. Please go adopt all of them pronto. It will give you something fun to do!!!
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