2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
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]
Picture above is before the roundabout was built. You actually drove through the gate! [Source]
In my previous post I mentioned how the Central Bank of Kuwait was originally designed by Arne Jacobsen. Well I managed to get more information on the Central Bank project in form of a PDF which you could download from [Here]
Update: Found some more pictures of the Central Bank, my favorites are below but you could see them all [Here]
Patrick over at Projekt Cyan posted about the Kuwait Central Bank today. Turns out the Central Bank was originally designed by Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen back in the early 70s, the guy who designed the very famous “egg chair“. The Kuwait Central Bank was actually his last project before he passed away. The picture above is how it originally looked when built.
Below is a picture of how it looks like today.
Finally this is how the new Central Bank is going to look like once completed.
You can read more about this on the Projekt Cyan website [Here]
First two photos via Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
The current Kuwait Airport (pictured above) was originally designed by the legendary Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The British architect and critic Stephen Gardiner wrote in 1985 that this is “the most beautiful airport in the world” because of its “breathtaking simplicity of color and shape.” It is “white sculptured space as cool as an ice-cube, as enormous as a vat intake of pure air, as light as a tent, as canvas hung from cables and sails.”
Below is how the airport looks like today.
Update: If you want to see more pictures of how the airport used to look click [Here]
This is a short clip from a really old show from the late 70s staring George Clooney. Whats interesting here is that in the clip George Clooney’s character gets a Kuwait Times newspaper delivered to him and he talks about his experience living in Kuwait. Just press play above and it should start at the right moment. [YouTube]
Thanks Hish
Update: The episode above is from 1985
Nearly everyone who grew up in Kuwait at one point in time must have had a Sakhr (MSX) or at least had a neighbor or knew someone who had one. I lost practically all my toys during the Iraqi invasion except for my Sakhr which I was able to take with me to Lebanon and then bring back to Kuwait after the liberation where it’s been with me ever since. I decided to take pictures of all my games (there are a few I couldn’t find like Rambo) in the hopes of bringing back good memories to people familiar with the games so here they are below.
Update: I found Rambo plus 3 other games and added to the gallery above.
