Category: 50s to 90s

The Free Kuwait Campaign documentary website just went live a couple of hours ago with a ton of photos along with detailed information regarding the events that took place. They also have a small collection of audio and video footage which you can watch and listen to.

The campaign to free Kuwait was a worldwide movement orchestrated officially by the government of Kuwait and unofficially by its residents-in-exile to rid their nation of occupying Iraqi troops during August 1990 to February 1991.

The Free Kuwait Campaign website was put together by the same team behind the The Evidence website, led and financed by businessman and photographer Adel Al-Yousifi. I’m a really huge fan of what he’s doing and I really hope he doesn’t stop these projects.

Check out the website by visiting www.freekuwait.org.kw

Photos above by Adel Al-Yousifi

Someone uploaded the extended version of the classic Pizza Italia commercial which contains a few scenes extra compared to the original. Good times. [YouTube]

Looks really great in this color. [Source]

Here are some photos from the 1977 National Day Parade that took place on the Gulf Road. All the photos are by mgmaniac.

Below are shots of me at what I think is the 1979 National Day Parade since I look around a year old in the pictures.

Sheraton looks pretty good in 1965. Supposedly it was the first Sheraton to open outside of North America. I say supposedly because I also read Sheraton Tel Aviv was first. Check out the much larger shot [Here]

I found a few old pictures of Kuwait on Magnum Photos which I thought would be fun to try and replicate today. I started off with two which I thought would be the easiest since they’re located next to my office.

The first photo I chose was a colored one from 1965. The building is still there although very slightly modified with less transparent glass and some minor change on the roof. The mosque though is not there anymore instead it’s a parking lot and a bit of greenery.

The second photo I chose was a black and white one of the KNPC building when it was still being constructed. The road in front of it is now slightly different but the building is pretty much the same and today occupied by Soor.

I have to say it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. I tried to stand and get the same angle as the original photographer had gotten but without knowing what lens he had used and the fact that everything is so different today it really makes it difficult. Will try and do more of these every now and then.

I was going through Brett Jordan’s photos on Flickr and checking out some shop names in close up when I found this old Alshaya Construction office. According to the Alshaya website:

Between the 1960s and 1970s we expanded substantially, developing distinct businesses in real estate, construction, hotels, automotive and general trading.

According to Brett Jordan the photo was taken in 1960. I thought that was interesting.

The long building in old Salmiya that housed that likes of Family Bookshop, Waleed Toys, Alamiah and Hardees is getting demolished soon. All the tenants have vacated the building and it’s now been barricaded in preparation to be brought down. It’s sad since I really believe if the building got renovated it would have looked great.

Family Bookshop in Salmiya is sadly closing down for good. I previously posted that they had a court case against the owner of the building but it looks like they lost because they currently have a closing down clearance.

It’s worth passing by the store one final time as a farewell to what used to be one of the best bookshops in Kuwait. Bit by bit what’s left of our childhood is being eroded away which is depressing.

On a similar note Waleed toy store which is located in the same strip is also closing down. Like Family Bookshop, Waleed toy store has been there for over 30 years.

You’ve probably passed by this building a number of times but not really known what it was or what’s inside. It’s currently getting demolished which is why I thought I would share some pictures I took back in 2003. Back then the building was still open and me and my friend decided to explore it and take some pictures. Most of the shots I had taken were abstract (it was a phase I went through) but I did find some shots that actually showed some of the interior which I posted below. We found a room full of files that contained dates and times of ships passing through some dating back to the 70s and I’m sure there might have been some even older. I kinda regret not taking more photos and flipping through more files but this is still better than nothing.

Architecture of Kuwait announced yesterday they will be tracing over old photos and turning them into 3D in order to visualize moments of that era. I think that’s a fantastic idea and one I’m looking forward to see. Not sure how far back in time they’re going but I’m guessing somewhere in the 50s and 60s. Check out their post on this project [Here]

Btw notice how much greener the city looked like in the picture above?

Larger version [Here]

I just saw this video on iLSuL6ana’s blog of the flood that happened in Kuwait back in 1997. Whenever I tell new comers about it they keep thinking I’m exaggerating. It really was that bad. [YouTube]

Before on top, now on the bottom. Other than the clutter I think the biggest change is the lack of natural daylight inside the airport.

Here is a link to a previous comparison. [Link]

via Thorsten