Spoiling Dinner – Malcolm Thompson

An add-on for the Market Magic Challenge, unfortunately not in time for the poll, but a wonderful addition. Thank you, Malcolm Thompson, for helping us see Kuwait through your private lens:

He adds that this was taken in a recent visit to the Al Kout/Manshar Mall Market area. Welcome, Malcolm!

Vote Now! The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge

We had some thoroughly splendid contributions to one of my favorite challenges of all, the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge.

Here are the challengers – please visit their photos before you vote:

DaisyMae
Bu Yousef
ShoSho
TeaGirl

Fewer entries – but every entry a gem. This is going to be a very difficult vote.

Thank you to our great photographer-participants. Your photos were truly Market Magic. :-) It was a thrill for me to see each and every one.

TeaGirl – Final Entry in the Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge

. . . Just under the wire, Teagirl sends in five spectacular entries from her archives. These are wonderful photos, TeaGirl:

Look at the composition on these photos – TeaGirl has the eye of a painter. I would love to know how you got that poster-effect in the second photo. Every face is beautiful in these shots; I would call the collection The Dignity of Work. Lovely photos, TeaGirl.

Wooo HOOO, ShoSho! The Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge

Watch out! Ya’ll have some serious competition! ShoSho sent these in, and she blew me out of the water. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wait till you see:

How does she do it? Look at those colors, look how saturated they are!

My friends, I remind you, the deadline in January 31st. You still have this one week to get your entries in.

I am heartened by the number of cameras I see down in the market – whether you enter or not, you are down there, taking photos and enjoying the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of a Kuwait national treasure.

Even the way the vegetables and fish are arranged shows artistry and an eye for beauty and composition. Look how ShoSho captures the colors and textures of the Sadu woven goods and carpets. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Send your photos to Intlxpatr@aol.com. If you send them, I will print them. :-)

(ShoSho, you set a very high standard to beat!)

Bu Yousef: Fancy a Date? Great Kuwait Market Magic Challenge

Woo HOO, Bu Yousef! This is one great photo! I can almost taste the date, but even better – I love the gleam on the vendor’s face! More, please, Bu Yousef!

The Great Kuwait Market Magic Photo Challenge

OK my friends. You know how this works. There is no great prize, except the thrill of the hunt, and the sharing with those who share your passion. And before we go on, I want to give credit to Yousef, at Some Contrast who took some truly fabulous photos at the Souk Mubarakiyya last week and wrote up a delightful article about it.

Today, the Great Kuwait Market Magic Photo Challenge kicks off. I would limit it to Mubarakiyya, but if I did, I might miss the magic YOU see in the Sharq market, or one of the fish markets or . . .

The weather is gorgeous. The lighting is fabulous. Go forth and capture the magic of the market. Send your photo to me and I will publish it here. Or you can publish it on your blog and tell us in the comments section of this blog entry, if that is your preference. The deadline will be January 31st, and I will post a poll so we can all vote on our favorites.

WOO HOO on you, Kuwait photographers.

I have a thing about bread, so here is what inspired this post:

This man, in the Mubarakiyya food court near the mosque, makes fatayer that I think are to die for. You can sit outside in the warmth of the Kuwaiti morning, and sip a little tea with mint and one of these fatayer (we like halloumi and zatar) will more than take care of your morning treat. :-)

For about one month of the year, being the man who puts the bread in the oven – it’s done by hand, for those of you who don’t live here – must be a joy. The rest of the year, I can’t begin to imagine . . .

This is a more modern oven, but it still looks like something out of Hansel and Gretel, doesn’t it? (Hansel and Gretel is one of many particularly gruesome “fairytales” children in the West are raised with. There are many horrifying tales – read the Grimm brothers. Wicked parents, wicked stepparents, a horror filled life for children.)

Back to the topic – go forth, Kuwait, and show us what you see in the markets!