Category: Kuwait

This past weekend Harley Davidson sent me to Lebanon for a bike ride as part of a media trip. They took care of my airline ticket and I hadn’t noticed until the very last minute that they had booked Kuwait Airways for me. If I had noticed earlier I would have obviously requested to change my flight to MEA but it was too late to change the ticket and I was stuck flying Kuwait Airways.

While checking in at the airport I asked if I was flying a new plane and turns out I was. I still wasn’t too thrilled about flying on the new planes because based on the photos Kuwait Airways had published in their instagram account (here and here), the new planes looked outdated, ugly and gloomy. Not sure why Kuwait Airways posted those horrible pictures but turns out they’re misleading and not an accurate representation of how the planes actually look like.

When I got onboard the new plane I was completely taken a back by how nice and bright the interior was. In the photos on the Kuwait Airways instagram account, the chairs looked dark and the walls and ceiling had a dull grey tone but in reality, the blues were vibrant and the walls and ceiling were bright and light colored. I sat down in my seat and noticed I had really good legroom as well, so far I was really impressed. I started flipping through the media center checking it out while the passenger next to me plugged in a USB stick with movies and started watching something. This is a completely new Kuwait Airways and I was liking it.

I flew both ways with the new Kuwait Airways plane and honestly I think the planes are better than the MEA ones which I normally fly with to Lebanon. There was even internet onboard the Kuwait Airways plane which I tried out on the way back ($10 for 30mins, $20 for 1 hour and $40 for 3 hours). Even the food wasn’t too bad at all and because no one flies Kuwait Airways, the plane wasn’t very packed making the experience even more enjoyable.

[YouTube]

I did have an issue though and it was with the flight attendants. When I headed to the bathroom at the back of the plane while we were flying, I noticed one of the flight attendants was sitting in a passenger seat with the headphones on watching a movie. I thought that was pretty unprofessional. Another incident which also showed a lack of professionalism, when we landed and the plane was still on the runway heading towards our parking spot, a passenger got up from his seat and started getting his bag from the overhead compartment. Instead of the Kuwait Airways flight attendant telling the man to sit back down she got up and walked over to him and helped him carry his bag down from the overhead compartment. Then other people started getting up to get their overhead bags while the plane was still moving. Total chaos and I though it was ridiculous that the flight attendants weren’t telling the passengers to stay seated until the plane stopped. But then again this was Kuwait Airways. Although everything does look new, modern and up to date, end of the day this is still the same airline and the flight attendants are a reminder of that.

Putting aside my issue with the flight attendants I actually had a great experience with Kuwait Airways. In fact I would choose Kuwait Airways over MEA in a heart beat if the Kuwait Airways flight wasn’t an hour longer (they don’t fly over Syria, Jordan or Israel so they take a big detour). I thought the in-flight entertainment system had more than enough entertainment for the 3 hour flight, I found the seats comfortable, the legroom was great and my overall experience was very positive. The only thing I would say though is that they can update all their planes as much as they want, they can get the new A380s even and have onboard showers but that’s not going to be enough to move the airline forward unless the employees get retrained and their professionalism reestablished. And I’m not talking about just the onboard flight attendants but every employee you interact with from the minute you checkin to the last Kuwait Airways employee you see should reflect this new and improved Kuwait Airways. Other than that they’re off to a pretty good start.

Portuguese architect Ricardo Camacho and the popular architecture website ArchDaily have put together an intellectual expose on how the new Al Shaheed Park was conceptualized. Ricardo is the architect behind Al Shaheed Park and although I have yet to see it in person, based on the photos on ArchDaily I am already head over heels in love.

This has to be the most beautiful place in Kuwait at the moment, it just looks so stunning. In the article Ricardo takes us on a tour of the park explaining all the elements and buildings but even if you don’t want to read you can still enjoy flipping through all the photos.

Also someone needs to tell the people at Al Tijaria Tower across the street that the huge advert on the side of their building has turned their building into an eyesore. Someone should also put Ricardo in charge of all of Kuwait City including the new Kuwait Airways building. Anyway check out the article and photos on Al Shaheed Park [Here]

Some spectacular footage of Kuwait in this video with my favorites being the first wide shot of Hamra Tower (pictured below) as well as the marshes. Doesn’t look like Kuwait. [Vimeo]

There is a video that has been circulating via whatsapp of a woman dressed in full Kuwait national day gear (screenshot above) at a McDonalds hurling insults at an employee. The woman who seems to be a local citizen verbally abuses the employee calling him names and demeaning him in front of everyone over what seems to be a misunderstanding.

Many readers have emailed me requesting to share the video which I would usually do because it’s news worthy in a tabloid sort of way but, I’m not sure I can do so without legally getting in trouble since the woman in the video is recognizable.

Anyway, here is my opinion on the video. This woman obviously doesn’t represent the majority or even minority of Kuwaitis. From the way she’s dressed and the insults she’s throwing I don’t think she’s even mentally stable. It’s just a one off situation similar to those random homeless people you run into in New York subways who talk to themselves and hurl insults randomly at strangers.

On the other hand one reader sent the following email which I thought I would share:

Being a Kuwaiti man, I am insulted by the behavior of some Kuwaitis over behavior like this:

Please do something about it. I truly believe this behavior needs to be made example of. A few years ago, a woman who threw her Kuwaiti passport on the ground to get a message across was made into an example of after social media widely spread her video. Such behavior that is displayed in this video needs to be stopped as well and it will if social media does the same thing to her.

I do agree that there should be consequences to her actions but again I don’t think this behavior or at least behavior this extreme is common. For those of you who’ve watched the video what are your thoughts on this?

The electricity went off around Kuwait awhile ago around 7:30PM. At first I thought it was just my neighborhood Salmiya but from twitter it looks like the affected areas so far are:

Mishref, Salmiya, Salwa, Surra, Da3iya, Qadsiya, Bayan, Sabah Al-Salem, Mahboula, Jabriya, Riggai, Mubarak Al Kabeer, Fintas, Mangaf, Abu Halifa, Shaab, Hawalli, Arabella and The Avenues.

No idea what caused the blackout but if you’re in the dark and your area isn’t mentioned above let me know. #halablackout

Rocket Internet AG (“Rocket”, ISIN DE000A12UKK6, RKET) today announces the signing of the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Talabat, one of the leading players in the attractive online food takeaway market in the Middle East, headquartered in Kuwait, for approximately EUR 150 million. The closing of the transaction is expected in the next few weeks.

Daaaaaaammmnnnn… [Source]

Thanks Ziad

Back in May of last year I shared renderings of the Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre that’s currently under construction in Kuwait City where the flag square used to be. The cultural centre will include theatres, concert halls, cinemas, conference and exhibition halls, a library archive and a public park.

Previously I had only seen external photos of the building but a reader made me aware that SSH, the architecture and engineering firm working on the project have now published internal shots of the centre.

Another bit of information I also just found out is that the cultural centre will have at least 9 theaters of which 8 are indoor and 1 outdoor. Of the 9 theaters, the larges one will be able to hold 2,000 people while the smallest up to 200.

I haven’t shared all the photos here just a few but if you want to see photos of all the theaters click [Here]

Have you guys passed by the Kuwait Towers at night? I kinda love how the towers now have some pretty trippy graphics animated on them. The video above kind of gives you a glimpse of how they look like but its actually even cooler in real life especially with the 70s style kaleidoscope effect. I’m kinda hoping this isn’t just a temporary thing for Hala February but something they’ll keep for a bit longer. [Vimeo]

According to a tweet by Al Arabiya News Channel, expats in Kuwait can now own 100% share in a company without the need for a Kuwaiti partner. I am not sure how accurate this information is since I haven’t been able to find a second source but Al Arabiya is considered a reliable source. I’m not going to pop open the non alcoholic champagne bottle just yet though, not until it’s officially announced somewhere else. [Link]

This reminds me of the other club found in Kuwait that was disguised as a tent from four years back. [YouTube]

I’m going to start sharing some of the photos I got from my last trip to the KOC photography archive. This group of photos in this post are of the old Kuwaiti police force, I don’t have a specific date but I’d say the photos were probably taken in the 60s.

Photos courtesy of the KOC Information Team.

PAWS Cruelty Investigation from john peaveler on Vimeo.

For the past year we have been receiving increasingly alarming reports on the welfare of animals in the Protecting Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) shelter. In the last two weeks, the reports have reached such urgency and frequency that we felt the time had come for us to take action in the interests of the nearly two hundred animals in that facility. We have thoroughly investigated this matter and are prepared to say, without a single doubt, that PAWS has fundamentally failed to meet the needs of the animals in their care in every possible way. Furthermore, PAWS can no longer be said to exist as an organization. Their shelter is now no more than an animal hoarding operation and an unequivocal case of animal cruelty.

The circumstances there are unacceptable. As a government society charged with the welfare of animals in Kuwait, it is our duty to stop this cruelty from happening. The animals in the PAWS shelter deserve better. K’S PATH has offered to take these animals and care for them, but PAWS has refused. The chairperson of PAWS refuses to admit that there is any problem at the shelter, but the time has come for this terrible situation to be made public. We ask you to view the video and decide for yourself.

If you would like to be involved in saving the animals of PAWS from their cruel circumstances, please email [email protected] and tell us how you can help. We do not want to overwhelm our phone line.

It will take the entire animal loving community of Kuwait to put an end to the cruelty of PAWS. Thank you for your support.

Post by John Peaveler
Managing Director
Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat (K’S PATH)

The Global Gender Gap Index seeks to measure one important aspect of gender equality: the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics. This year Kuwait came first among Arab countries coming in 113th place. Although that sounds great, Kuwait came 113th place out of 142 so yes it performed better than Arab countries but is still far behind the rest of the world overall.

On the other hand, UAE ended up coming two places behind at 115 and Saudi Arabia at a lower 130 which is what you would expect. What I didn’t expect though is Lebanon coming in five places lower than Saudi Arabia in 135th place. That’s just messed up. Check out the full report [Here]

The Secret Garden is a new project by Mimi, the same person behind the popular Shakshooka nomadic farmers market. She originally started the project last year but shifted it to full gear around a month ago and I passed by yesterday to check the place out and left extremely impressed.

The Secret Garden simply put is an urban community garden. Mimi got permission from the municipality to occupy part of a public garden in Salmiya and setup planting stations so that people and children could come and grow their own vegetables, herbs and fruits. Majority of the garden was built using recycled material and they even have their own compost pit which they’ve started filling up in hopes of it being ready for next year.

Every Saturday the community is encouraged to come by the garden from 9AM till sundown to either plant, paint, build or just socialize. Mimi has some great plans for the future including possibly turning the garden into the permanent spot for the weekly Shakshooka farmers market, having gardening workshops and even hold film screenings in the garden.

I’ll be posting about The Secret Garden every weekend with the rest of the weekend events to keep everyone posted on whats taking place there so stay tuned. For now you can check out more pictures of the garden by following @mimikuwait on instagram or the hashtag #thesecretgardenproject

Earlier today I visited the Kuwait Oil Company offices in Ahmadi since a friend of mine helped me get permission to access their full photography archive. So, I headed there with my portable hard drive expecting to find a few interesting images that I’d copy and then leave. That didn’t exactly happen and I’m not sure I have the words to explain what I saw.

They have two rooms, the main archive room and a smaller negatives room. The negatives room is covered with drawers that are filled with film negatives of every event thats ever occurred in Ahmadi from the late 30s up till now. By every event I literally mean every event, every party, every play, every school activity, every PR activity… EVERYTHING. They’ve literally been documenting Ahmadi since Ahmadi started. Not only that but they’ve also been documenting Kuwait so there are a tons of old photos from all around Kuwait like the old market, Entertainment City, Muthana Complex, etc… you name it and they most likely will have it (except for photos of Kids R’ Us which I looked for and didn’t find). The room is extremely organized with different drawers containing different kind of activities so for example the negatives for the Social Activities are all located in two columns of drawers (around 8 drawers high). The highest drawer contains the oldest photos while the lowest drawer the newest. Each envelope is dated and has a description of what’s inside and there are over 300,000 negatives of which only around 50,000 have been digitized so far. The reason they didn’t lose majority of the archive during the 1990 invasion is because employees took boxes filled with negatives and hid them in their homes until the war was over.

I spent a bit of time flipping through the drawers but the majority of the time I was sitting in the main room where a computer is connected to their server containing all the digitized copies of the images. Finding photos involves searching for something specific, so for example you search for the word “market” and the database will pull out a list of names of all the envelopes that have the word market in them. You then read the descriptions and if you find one that is related to what you’re looking for, you need to copy the number and then go to a certain folder on the hard drive and search for that number to pull up the images. It’s not a very quick task at all.

So anyway, this is whats going to happen. Right now I have a hard drive filled with images from today which I am going to start posting next week probably under the heading “The KOC Archive” or something like that. I also told them I would visit them at least once a month so I could continue to dig through their archive. If there is anything specific you guys want me to find let me know and I’ll write it down and look for it on my next visit.