Kuwait City - Kuwait Towers
March 20, 2003 4:25 PM   Subscribe

Wonder about those towers behind Wolf Blitzer? I have, as I'm sure you have, seen a lot of the three sculptural towers behind the various newscasters transmitting from Kuwait City. They're quite beautiful -- award winning -- water towers (holding 4500 cubic meters). Built in 1979 by swedes, they are the largest and most visible part of a 100,000 cubic meter water storage system, which also includes the mushrooms along the beaches.
posted by zpousman (9 comments total)
 
"dong! The calls are coming from inside your own head! GET OUT! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

Heh. Cool post, Zpousman.
posted by dong_resin at 4:34 PM on March 20, 2003


Great post, zpousman! I had just always assumed they served some sort of religous purpose.
posted by bshort at 4:37 PM on March 20, 2003


I read that the Iraqis tried desparately to destroy them in the last war, but they were too strongly built. They were still standing when the Iraqis made their exit.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 4:38 PM on March 20, 2003


I have a tendency to worry more about Wolf Blitzer's background as Jonathan Pollard apologist and Pentagon hatchet man

but the tower thing's interesting, too
posted by matteo at 5:01 PM on March 20, 2003


I've been up in the one with the 2 spheres. It's got a rotating restaurant in the upper one. There's actually a stationary disc in the center of the chamber, and a perimeter outide it that rotates. I remember (as a kid of about 12) standing right on the seam in the floor, and being spun around in place. Pretty nifty. The food was terrible, though, as I recall. Low-grade refrigerated cafeteria-style crap. Probably because not that many people visit.

There are actually dozens of massive water towers all around Kuwait, all of various designs and impressive volume. I guess that's what you have to do when you have no native fresh water and no geography. No such thing as a reservoir in the mountains...
posted by scarabic at 7:07 PM on March 20, 2003


very much reminds of this horrific thing on Interstate 80 at the Utah/Nevada bordrer. I spent a few perplexed minutes trying to make sense of that thing. But $4.99 prime rib beckoned just across the border, so I moved on.
posted by pejamo at 7:31 PM on March 20, 2003


The Middle East is filled with fantastic architecture. The famous Burj al Arab "sail" hotel in Dubai is my favorite, and a building in Riyadh won an award for best skyscraper of 2002.
posted by Kevs at 9:28 PM on March 20, 2003


say "Pollard apologist" three times fast, I dare you ;) great post.
posted by hob at 10:04 PM on March 20, 2003


Anyone who likes water towers - or other industrial photography - should check the work of German photog couple Bernd and Hilla Becher. Their book Water Towers has tons of beautiful pix.
posted by mediareport at 10:28 PM on March 20, 2003


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