FirstLook: A Market’s Port of Call

Until the 1950s a bustling marketplace called Souk Al Fordah operated along the seafront of Kuwait City. After the war in 1991, Kuwait faced a demand for consumer goods. In response, a popular market reminiscent of Souk Al Fordah sprang up in the same area, selling merchandise transported by traditional wooden ships. Eager to replace household items that had been looted, people flocked to the new market and found everything from flowerpots, kitchen items and electronics to furniture, dry goods and fresh produce. Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud, the first professional female photojournalist at the Arab Times, who has documented Kuwait for more than 40 years, captured the scene. “Nostalgia undoubtedly played a role in the popularity of the new market. Shoppers took pleasure in an experience that took them back to the days when wooden dhows discharged their goods from ports around the Arabian Gulf, India and Africa,” recalls Al Rashoud, whose books on Kuwait’s history and heritage showcase her pictures.