Kūlmān


Kūlmāns are insulated plastic jugs with a spout, often mounted in metal frames or set on tables near shop entrances, and generally accompanied by a small cup attached by string. Kūlmāns offer colder water through the daily addition of ice, often in the form of a frozen bottle of water that is added along with the fresh water each day. Kūlmāns are moderately expensive but are also a common household item, so are the form that most often circulates between public and private use depending on season and personal circumstances.

Kūlmān Photograph Gallery

A man uses a large plastic water bottle to wash the outside of a blue kūlmān set on top of a pink stool and a stack of books. Next to the stool is an orange and white kūlmān on the ground. Two teenage boys use a large water bottle to fill an orange kūlmān sabīl that is sitting on a wooden stand in front of shops. A motorcycle is parked to the left, a man in a blue shirt and jeans is walking away from the sabīl and a group of women in hijab are walking towards the sabīl. A red kūlmān sits on top of a dark wooden stool next to a door. A tin cup is sitting on top of the kūlmān and is attached by a string. One teenage boy wearing a red shirt is filling a small plastic water bottle from an orange kūlmān hanging on the wall of a residential building, and next to him is another teenage boy in a blue shirt with a tray of teacups covered with small metal dishes. Both people are looking at the camera and smiling. An older man in a red shirt with white stripes leans on a display case full of lightbulbs in front of a small shop while a boy with a backpack and pink shirt drinks out of a metal cup attached to an orange kūlmān sabīl. Two young men stand in front of an eyewear store, one man wearing an orange shirt and glasses is facing away and grabbing the other man’s hand. Next to the store is a large poster of a man and a woman in sunglasses, and in front of that is a blue kūlmān sabīl set on a brown plastic stool with a glass cup set on top and a motorcycle parked next to it. Boxes of Tank brand kūlmāns are displayed in a home goods store, with red and white kūlmāns outside of their boxes on the shelf next to them and laundry racks set in front. All objects have paper price tags in Arabic. A man is holding open an orange kūlmān sabīl to show that inside the sabīl are many water bottles of ice. The man is holding a blue plastic cup with the same hand he is using to hold the handle of the kūlmān. A man in a white t-shirt and grey messenger bag is standing in front of a metal rack with two orange and white kūlmāns attached to it. The man is reaching for the metal cup on the lefthand kūlmān. Behind the metal rack is a wall with a large blue poster with red and yellow writing in Arabic. Two men are standing behind a metal food cart looking at the camera. On the ledge of the food cart to the right is a small blue kūlmān and a metal cup, while on the left side of the ledge is a stack of soda bottles three levels high. Next to this is another metal food cart with vegetables and cartons on display. Two older men sit on plastic chairs in front of a residential building, with cups of tea on a plastic stool in front of them. To the right is a red kūlmān with a white lid sitting on a matching brown plastic stool. On top of the kūlmān are sitting a plastic cup and bottle. A sign above the door to the right is written in English and Arabic. The English reads “Specialist in Tropical and Internal Medicine Liverpool England.” A black and white photograph of a woman in a market area in a black abaya and hijab standing next to a kūlmān sabīl on a stand. In the background can been seen other carts in the market area with customers. A blue sabīl with a white lid sits on a short stool in front of two archways framing menswear stores. A red plastic cup is sitting on top of the sabīl and two men in light-colored polo shirts and jeans are sitting on plastic chairs facing the sabīl. A blue kūlmān with a white lid is attached to a light blue wall by a metal stand.