Page 374 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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The Ruler continues, with excellent results, to forbid a newspaper,
cinemas, theatres, alchoholic drink and gramophones in coffee shops. The
heady wine of Western "civilization” is thus being taken in ships not
gulps, and only by the wealthier class, which is able to resort to Basra.
(c) Imperial Airways.—The East and Westbound services of Imperial
'Airways were duplicated as from 1st January 1935, and during the period
under review, continued to call at Kuwait if somewhat irregularly.
The percentage of calls not made to total passages was approximately
70 per cent.
There is no night landing equipment, no hanger or shelter other than
the Town wall, no Airways provided wind-indicator, and no waiting room
for passengers, beyond a sun shelter built by Ilis Excellency the Shaikh,
nor is there a buoyed seaplane anchorage.
No rapid means of communication exists in Kuwait for the disposal of
meteorological reports and communication with aircraft.
The landing ground continues to be the small area under the Town
.wall and the wider area available a little further out has not been used.
The only visit received from an Airways Staff official during the year
was from Mr. Cross, the Cairo Manager who spent a quarter of au hour
on the aerodrome at Kuwait on the 11th of November.
(<d) Boat Building and Pearl Diving.—A note on the number, tonnage
etc., of boats built during the year will be found in the Trade Report lor
1935.
The industry remained very low owing to the slump in the pearl market
and resultant decrease in pearl diving.
Boats are now cheaper than they have been for many years and the
best builders in the tow will make a dhow or smaller sailing boat for a
third of price charged a few years ago.
The pearling vessels this year put into commission numbered about
250 as compared with 300 in 1934. and about 750 in the hey day of pearling
in the years just after the Great War of 1914-18.
(e) Locusts.—No plague of locusts came to Kuwait in 1935.
(/) The Pilgrimage to Mecca (//a;).—The 1935 pilgrimage led about
11 GO Moslems to leave Kuwait by the overland route. Of these about 100
.were foreigners passing through the State.
The figures are as follows: —
Overland route.
Car. Camel
Kuwaitis 10 1,000
Indians . 14
Iraqis 130
Persians .
Miscellaneous
Sea or other route.
Kuwaitis . Nil.
a considerably greater number of pilgrims thus left Kuwait for the pilgrim­
age than in 1934.

V. H. M. tee Late King Emperor’s Birthday and Jubilee.
His Majesty the late King Emperor’s Birthday was approximately
celebrated on June 3rd. May the Gth was celebrated as a general Holiday,
for the Jubilee, His Excellency the Shaikh holding horse races, war games,
dancing and fantasias. He also distributed alms to the poor and gave a
dinner to three hundred of the oldest people of the town.
The Political Agent gave an official reception and dinner party and
the exceptional occasion was otherwise suitably marked.