By Suliaman Rada (With photos)
KUWAIT, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- A hobby of a Kuwaiti man to collect Misbaha (prayer beads), particularly those made of amber, had turned into a booming trade in Kuwait that has become a hub for it in the Gulf and Middle East regions. Prayer beads trader Hussein Al-Qorshi told (KUNA) that this trade has been thriving in Kuwait in the past five years as many of Kuwaiti youth had shown growing interest in possessing such beads for religious purpose or for collecting precious pieces. He also noted that the number of prayer beads shops have grown significantly in the recent years in Kuwait. Kuwait is the GCC's largest hub for prayer beads and the Middle East's second largest market following Turkey, Al-Qorshi said, noting that the Kuwaiti-produced prayer beads were characterized by their attractive design and competitive price. Trader Hayder al-Husseini believes that the hobby of collecting prayer beads especially, those made of amber, had turned into a profitable business thanks to the increasing demand for such beads by age groups that there were not present at the market before.
Implementing the desire of many prayer beads amateur collectors an auction was organized Monday on the sidelines of a three-day prayer beads exhibition, the first of its kind in the Gulf and the Middle East regions. The auction witnessed the sale of precious bead made of rare stones such as amber, the price of some them reached KD 11, 000. For his part, Head of the Prayer Beads Exhibition Organizing Committee Abdullatif Al-Sarraf said the pieces presented in the auction had been examined by experts to make sure of the materials they were made of. (end) smr.eca.ibi KUNA 011540 Feb 11NNNN