September 16, saw me skimming across the waves to Failaka Island. In my reading, before going to the island, one source mentioned that it was the most important island in Kuwait. After visiting the island, I also read that it is considered to be Ranked #70 of 71 things to do in Kuwait by Lonely Planet travellers. (I am not using the list provided by Lonely Planet to determine what to see next, but I must admit that it is sort of nice to know that I am visiting all the right places. :)
The island is approximately 20 km from Kuwait City and 50 kilometers from the southernmost tip of Iraq. It is because of its close proximity to Iraq that it was the first Kuwaiti territory to be invaded by Iraq. During 1990 and 1991, the invading Iraqis depopulated the island, expelling all of its residents to the mainland. The Iraqi military mined the beaches and used the island's facilities and buildings for target practice.
Failaka Island is also important for another reason. 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.
I have included a map of the region so that you can see where the island is in reference to Kuwait City (Kuveitas) and Iraq (Irakas).
It took our group (about 40 school staff and their children) roughly 45 minutes to travel by an air-conditioned catamaran to the island. I couldn't get over how even on the island, you could still see the sky-line of Kuwait City.
Once we reached the island, we were taken by bus to the one of only 2 hotels on the island. There we were able to partake of a buffet that was provided.
We were then able to walk through a museum that contains many artifacts from days gone by and walk through a series of rooms that gave us a glimpse into what it was like on the island, probably around the late 1800's or early 1900's. Dates where a bit hard to understand and/or read.
After the museum, we were able to walk done deserted streets, where once beautiful homes had been used for target practice when the Iraqis invaded. These homes have 100's of bullet holes piercing their exteriors and an occasional mortar hole tearing open a wall. Over time these houses have been looted and what remains inside is basically just garbage. It is an incredible feeling to actually be in a place where a piece of history that you remember, has actually occurred. It is also quite a feeling to see up-close and personal, what war looks like. This picture, taken from an internet site, gives you sort of an idea of what we were looking at. I am including the site's address if you would like to look at more pictures of the island.
Next, we boarded busses once more and drove out to the tank cemetery. We were able to see tanks and artillery guns that had been left after the Iraqis left the island. If one was so inclined, you could climb right inside one of the tanks. I decided that I really didn't need to feel any hotter than I already was. That, and although the Kuwaiti army has tried to make sure that any landmines, etc that had been planted were disarmed, I wasn't going to test that theory out.
Our next stop was to see a camel "farm". The Sheik, who owns a lot of the land on the island, raises these camels as a reminder of their importance to the history of the people. We were able to get up close and personal with a group of 9 month olds that were in a pen. The adults, who are free to roam around, decided that we were rather an interesting looking lot, and ventured over to check us out. The camel herder was very insistent that we understand that these adults are wild and could hurt us. I have attached a picture of this herder and one of his camels that I found on the above site.
Our day ended with a swim in the Gulf. I dipped my toes into the water so that I can say that I have touched the water, but I spent my time looking for seashells and enjoying the cooler temperatures. When the guide came to collect us, it was with the understanding that we were to get on the busses, right now. The reason being that the tide was on the way out, and if we waited too much longer, we would not be getting off the island. Needless to say, we made it.
This is definitely a place that I will visit again. My understanding is that Spring is a nice time to go. I guess my job, between now and March is to find out what the people here consider Spring, since most of the locals will tell you that there is only two seasons - Summer and Winter. I will keep you posted on this.
By the way, the reason this post has taken so long and there are no pictures of mine is that between my computer and the internet I lost the original post, and now my memory stick has decided that it doesn't want to share any pictures, with anyone except my desktop. If and when I get this figured out, I will add pictures. (Bah humbug on all technology).
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