Kuwait Stock Exchange

    Today I went to the Kuwait Stock Exchange. It was my first time there and it was incredible. First to get in we had to pass through security which was rubbish. The metal detector machine you walk through wasn't working, in fact it was turned off, I saw the switch it said OFF. On their way in, people also placed their keys and phones in a basket before passing, I don't know why maybe out of habit since the security guard didn't seem to care. Also, if you had a bag, like I did, the security guard checked it with a handheld metal detector which I am sure was off because it had no lights and it made no sounds, although I had my camera, pda, iPod and PSP in it. Anyway when we went in, the place looked like an airport lounge. There was a restaurant, a Starbucks and a lot of people just sitting in chairs exactly like the ones you would find at airports. There was also a huge Times Square like electronic screen on the wall, they told me it was a new addition and that people can now watch the news and the stocks all from that "lounge". We then went to the stock exchange floor, now that place was huge and just totally packed with people. The shot I took only shows a third of the floor, since I am using a fixed 50mm lens I couldn't zoom out to show you more. This floor is where all the action takes place according to our guide, he told us this is where you can find people dancing or people fainting. He told us last week there were ambulances lined up outside the stock exchange building because when the stocks went down badly so did a lot of people. Today wasn't a good day either, when we got to the place all the stocks were down, turned out there was some kind of court case between the owners of Sultan Center and another party, people were waiting for the results of the case, then once word reached them that the Sultan Center owners won the case, stocks starting going back up. One thing that was totally strange about the KSE was that people actually wanted to be photographed. When I pulled out my camera old people started asking me if I was from CNN or Time magazine and they wanted me to take pictures of them. Its a very strange place..

    Update: If you are looking for hi-res pictures of the Kuwait Stock Exchange here is the link www.248am.com/mark/kuwait/pictures-from-the-kuwait-stock-...

    Comments and faves

    1. ★

      الجنـــــرال, nDit, bryanite, hilgum, and 38 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. JOreia (97 months ago | reply)

      alaa yekather kheer el kuwait :)

    3. Abdullah AL-Naser (97 months ago | reply)

      I've never been there, I'd like to go and see new things. I guess I should dress formal clothes like dishdasha or suit :p

    4. Cadigan (96 months ago | reply)

      What a fascinating photo. Your description makes it even more intriguing.

    5. Alblogy (86 months ago | reply)

      Nice Pic! maybe the stock market was up when you take this image!

      I take 2 pics for Kuwait Stock market

    6. aekpani (85 months ago | reply)

      Salam,

      Can I use it for one of our company's website to display stock price link?

    7. miskan (85 months ago | reply)

      what company is that?

    8. Eng.Nayef Alsolihem (69 months ago | reply)

      Amazing picture, your Photo blog in
      Kuwait Pictures

    9. missmiss123 [deleted] (69 months ago | reply)

      I am sorry but I just find this picture hilarious

    10. david55king (66 months ago | reply)

      Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Employment - People at Work, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

    11. " N " Whatever ! (55 months ago | reply)

      و الله العظيييييييم ،،، المتداوليين اشكالهُم تضّحك ! شكرا ً ع الصُورة

    12. rencanatrading (45 months ago | reply)

      Hi..

      Its a very 'well done' picture!. Can I use it in my weblog? its rencanatrading.wordpress.com.

      I will appreciate.

      Thanks
      Satrio

    13. DeNaLio - ( wolf^pac) (43 months ago | reply)

      حد امــــه انفلونزا الخنازير

      وقريبا انفلونزا الهوامير

      ههههههه

    14. Q8Evanescence (38 months ago | reply)

      Hi, I'm an admin for a group called DASMAN, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

    15. ALBAHAR2010 (36 months ago | reply)

      Yeah that's the deal with every thing in Kuwait.. Every thing is "OFF" ,, though the shot is good

    16. A.A.A2012 (12 months ago | reply)

      Nice

    keyboard shortcuts: ← previous photo → next photo L view in light box F favorite < scroll film strip left > scroll film strip right ? show all shortcuts