Hello Friends,
Winter has come to an end here in Kuwait and the temperature has started rising..some people call it spring though.
We completed 3 years of living in Kuwait recently and this winter was the best of all years we have been here. The temperature touched 0 deg C and below this year, something I always prefer over 55 deg C. This was also the busiest of season for us, my husband jokingly said that the petrol expenses have doubled in last two months. We have been attending crafty meetups, book club meetings, exhibition, fairs and lastly exploring tourist places when my family visited.
This post is dedicated to one such outing to Mirror House,Kuwait. We visited the Mirror House on 24th Feb for a evening tour. The House of Mirrors or Mirror House, also known as the Khalifa & Lidia Qattan Art Museum is like a wonderland where every wall, floor and nook of the house is covered with mirrors. Mrs. Lidia Qattan single-handedly transformed an old house into piece of art which is now open to public to admire. Mrs. Qattan gives you a personal tour of the house , with stories of how she started making one wall for her daughter's room in 1966, how supplies were difficult to get in those days , how termite destroyed the mirror work and it was built again.
 |
| Front wall of the house |
 |
| Entrance |
 |
| Main entrance of the house |
Mrs Qattan, originally from Italy has passion for art, world peace, humanity which is aptly reflected in her work.
The museum has been divided into sections to experience a magical journey into a world of fantasy, science, mental stimulation and spiritual enlightenment. The journey thru the house is an experience guaranteed to illuminate your heart and soul with its enchanting, energetic, and heart warming host, the artist and creator of this magical place, Lidia Qattan.
 |
| Stairs to the upper floor |
The hostess has a knack for recycling objects we use in our day to day life like tube lights, water filters, pots and you can find many interesting decorations made of recycled stuff.
 |
| Decorations made out of recycled stuff |
 |
| Close up of one of the painting using buttons |
At the start of tour , you are greeted by Mrs. Qattan lovely granddaughter and treated to world's best ginger tea ,cakes and other home made snacks. The best thing about the tour apart from the mirror art is the personal touch Mrs. Qattan adds to the tour by narrating stories of old Kuwait and her life. It is extremely kind of her to give a personal tour instead of hiring a employee to do so.
The museum also houses Mr. Qattan's paintings which are a visual treat .
If you are in Kuwait or plan to visit in near future, a visit to Mirror House is highly recommended.All the info can be found on http://www.mirrorhouseq8.com . Booking a tour just requires a phone call and you can pay when you reach the museum.
P.S. I'm writing this post as a thank you to my fellow expat bloggers who have helped me explore Kuwait in last three years thru their informative posts abt expat life specially in Kuwait.Being in Kuwait , I know from experience that adequate information is not available online and it is thru these blogs that we find tips how to make our lives easier and more enjoyable in this country.I hope this blog post will be useful to new expats in Kuwait who want to explore the country.
Ok so personally, I did go to the Mirror House when I first arrived in Kuwait (around Oct/Nov 2016) but I thought the whole experience was very strange. To be fair, on the day I went, there were over 20 people and it was very cramped. I might go again if I got the chance and had nothing else to do but when we were sitting in that dark room with the flashing lights, I thought it was a bit too hippie-ish for me!
ReplyDeleteIt truly is a magical place. I can't even imagine how many hours went into creating it all. I told her it takes a lot of patience to do such work. But she told me no, it is very easy. She thought my crocheting was difficult and time consuming. (1966 was a very good year. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing sight that must have been, Mini! How nice to have all of the personal touches on your tour, too. Thank you for sharing your lovely photos :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteI'm glad you like the pics.
What a neat spot. I think more people should explore their own regions more and support local. We have started doing more of that in the last couple of years now that we have kids and want to take them places we went when we were little. I hope you share more places you discover :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we should support and promote local. It is specially needed in this part of the world where the history is not treasured like in the Europe or Americas.
DeleteWow, that is amazing and only slightly insane! It reminds me of the Shell Grotto in Margate but with mirrors obviously! It is definitely somewhere I would want to visit especially as you can talk to the artist herself.
ReplyDeletehttp://shellgrotto.co.uk/
Yes ,people find it bit strange that Lidia used to break whole mirrors to create the designs.
DeleteThanks for the link to Shell Grotto. Looks interesting.
That's an interesting mirror house!! Have you seen the palaces in Rajasthan? they have so so beautiful breathtaking mirror works and also in few temples.
ReplyDeleteYes I have been to Amer fort, and I remembered the famous song Pyaar kiya toh darna kya which was shot here.
DeleteWow, this house must be amazing, Mini. So much to discover and to enjoy. Very interesting, so thanks for sharing the pictures with us.
ReplyDeleteIt was really an amazing experience. I'm glad you liked it.
DeleteWow this sounds amazing. I love how she was the one to take you around the house itself. So much creativity! x
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteI like when people add personal touch to such trips, makes it more memorable.
Thank you for sharing your visit! This is the kind of place I love to see when I am traveling...small hidden gems crafted by people with a strong passion. What a treat that the creator herself gave the tour.
ReplyDeleteWow! That house is so very interesting! It must have been a wonderful experience to get a personal tour. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteAmazing place in kuwait
ReplyDelete