About a 10-minute drive from the French Research Center of the Arabian Peninsula where I was invited to document the dying history of Kuwait City, there is the souk- Mubarakiyah. My friend Hassan Ashkanani, assistant professor of anthropological archaeology at Kuwait University, picked me up in his large BMW sedan - a stark contrast to the neighborhood where the research center is located in a remote part of the city close to the ruins of the city’s ancient architecture.
(Honorable mention - Monovisions Photography Awards 2020). The Palace of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jabir was damaged during the Iraqi invasion.
Entrance of a typical store in Mubarakyia souk.
The Mubarakyia souk, meaning “old market” in Arabic, is a large indoor market located in the middle of the old Kuwait City and just in front of the main old Kuwait single port, Furdha. It has been around for about 200 years and consists of more than 30 small bazaars, each specialized in making crafts such as woven baskets or selling food products including dates, fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, rice, spices, Halwa (Kuwaiti sweets), weapons, fabrics, and dishes. All the stores in the Mubarakiya souk are owned by the Kuwait government. Walking to the souk from the parking lot nearby we passed restaurants, cafes and a Mosque (Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Bin Bahar Mosque), which is located right beside the souk. The souk covers a huge surface of 9 acres (more than 400000 square feet), with vendors taking up to 4 or 5 meters of space each for their small shops. As Kuwait isn’t a typical tourist destination, almost every person we passed was a local resident and most of them donned the Dishdasha, a traditional ankle-length white cotton shirt or the Abaya, an ankle-length black robe that conceals all but the hands, feet, and face.
The Kuwait government recently has restored most of Mubarakiya district and many large restaurants have been opened to offer traditional Kuwaiti and Persian cuisine. New cafes owned by the younger generation of Kuwaitis have been popping up in Mubarakiya since 2015. However, a small section from the old souk remains untouched and many of the vintage storefronts are dedicated to date sellers. The old section of the souk is one of the most common places for locals in Kuwait to get a glimpse of what shops looked like back when the souk first opened and get a taste of the goods that used to be sold there.
Date seller store front remained untouched.
Mr. Gholom Jafar Mohammad Ashkanani, date seller in Mubarakyia
Throughout the souk, goods are surprisingly well organized by category- there is a section for cookware, fish and meats, fruits and vegetables and a whole section in the middle of the souk dedicated to dates. We spoke with Mr. Gholom Jafar Mohammad Ashkanani, who owns one of the five remaining date stores in Mubarakiya. He told us he has been selling dates at the souk since 1959. His cousin, who passed away in October 2021, was renowned as the oldest date seller in Kuwait City.
In North Kuwait City, the Jahra farms provide dates for the market but in other areas, date sellers import dates from Basrah, Iraq, which was the 5th biggest date producer in 2018 with more than 600,000 tons. Most date sellers buy directly from Iraqi traders but some also coordinate with specialized date dealers called Qata’a.
Gholom explained that in the beginning, the most important date customers were the Kuwaiti sailors who consumed dates as their main source of sustenance during trips to the Indian and African coasts, where they traveled to trade or pearl dive. Bedouins were also important customers as they used to visit the city regularly to purchase dates in bulk.
Dates in bulk to be sold by the kilogram
Today, most people buy dates by the kilogram and they are sometimes available in sealed packages that allow for better conservation. Kuwaitis eat dates throughout the year, but especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Considered a traditional opener for breaking the fast at sunset, dates are eaten with milk, yogurt, porridge (Tahina) or used as a main ingredient for the traditional food mix used to make pastries called Tamryia, which consists of flour, oil and nuts.
Seller weights spices in his store
Storage of a large variety of spices.
Kuwaiti cuisine typically includes a variety of spices such as dried lemon, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, curry, cloves, cinnamon, and saffron. Kuwait dishes aren’t spicy but rather aromatic. Hasan explained to me that the souk is the place to go to find spices by the kilo as most grocery stores are limited in variety and don’t sell spices in bulk.
During my visit at the souk, Hassan and I stopped for a bite to eat at the food court- a new addition to the market. Most of the small restaurants there serve a variety of seafood dishes with rice. I enjoyed a delicately grilled sea bass, served with rice, pomegranate and spices. Fish remains a favorite among Kuwait city dwellers as the population was once made up of fishermen, sea-related traders and sailors.
Zubaidi (Silver Bream Fish), known a the "King of Fish"
Kuwait’s national fish is called Zubaidi (Silver Bream Fish) and traditionally prepared in a dish called Muttabaq Samak where the fish is fried and served with rice, pomegranate and pickles. Zubaidi is known by the locals as the “King of Fish,” and the pricey fish goes for up to $40 a kilo but Kuwaitis say its fine taste makes it worth the price when you have guests to impress. “If you want to honor your guests, you will probably cook Zubaidi or shrimp,” Hassan said.
The section of the market where fish vendors sling more than 25 different types of fish and seafood, used to be located under temporary tents made of reed. Under the reign of Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah, the sixth ruler of Kuwait (1896 - 1915), the fish market served as the earliest active trade and exchange in Kuwait history and the temporary tents in this area were replaced by small shops.
Like many fresh products, fresh fish is a seasonal luxury that can sometimes be difficult to find in grocery stores. So to supplement, Kuwait City has two fish markets that are open year round - the one in the historical Mubarakiya souk, and a larger fish market located by Sharq Harbor that opened more recently and hosts weekly auction sales.
The fish market located by Sharq Harbor.
Dried fruits and pickle store in Mubarakyia
In Kuwaiti cuisine alongside the main dish of fish or lamb, you’ll often find pickled fruits and vegetables. Pickles have been a common side dish since before Kuwait’s oil boom in the 1950s when sailors would take dried fruits and pickled goods to sustain them on their voyage.
Pickled fruits and vegetables in Kuwait can include pickled mango, lemon, chili, carrot, or a mix. Traditionally homemade by women, the pickles are prepared by mixing the main ingredient with vinegar, garlic, black pepper and salt, and then left to sit in a jar in the sun for several weeks.
Hussain Al Abdulrazaq, pickled fruits and vegetables seller.
While visiting the souk, we stopped at a pickle shop managed by Hussain Al Abdulrazaq, an Iranian expat who once was a very well-known date seller in one of the oldest stores in the souk. But as the law in Kuwait prevents any non-Kuwaiti to own property or a business, Hussain remains a just worker hopping to different stores based on the direction of his employer.
Although the majority of the souk is dedicated to food stands, there is a special section called the Safafer for food accessories such as woven trivets (suffra, arabic food mats), baskets, dishes and teapots. As we were passing through the Safafer, we met Abdullah Al Tamimi, the oldest seller in the Mubarakiya market. He told us he was about 83 years old but doesn’t remember his exact age. Tamimi sells traditional dishes and pots that over the years have become hard to find as the demand has drastically decreased.
Abdullah Al Tamimi, the oldest seller in the Mubarakiya market.
Traditional dishes from Al-Tamimi store.
Abdullah Al Tamimi in his dishes store.