Category: Kuwait

I’m currently in the process of reviewing the Sony NEX-7 camera so I was in Souk Mubarkia over the weekend taking some photos when I found the Mubarak Kiosk open and decided to check it out.

The function of the kiosk changed a lot over the years, originally in 1934 the kiosk was the first independent legal court in Kuwait. Later it was rented and used as a pharmacy an then as a post office run by the British. At the end of the 1950s the kiosk was used as a public library and 60s forward the top floor was used as a photography studio while the ground floor was turned into a samboosa shop. In 2010 the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters took over the kiosk and renovated it from ground up and turned it into a museum.

The museum is pretty small but that doesn’t really matter. The fact that the kiosk was renovated and turned into a historical site is what’s important and they really need to continue renovating more and more old buildings. It’s not worth driving all the way to Souk Mubarkia just to visit this museum but if you’re in the area it’s interesting to see. They have an iPad on the top floor in the back corner that has a photo gallery of old pictures of Kuwait as well as pictures of the kiosk from the outside and inside before and during renovation. I thought that was very interesting and even tried emailing the photos to myself using their iPad but failed (didn’t have access to the home button).

If you want to pass by here are their opening hours:

Summer Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 4:30PM to 8:30PM
Saturdays and Fridays they’re closed in the morning
Sunday they’re closed in the evening

Winter Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 4PM to 8PM

Ramadan Visiting Hours
Saturday to Friday
9AM to 12PM – 8:30PM to 11PM
(First days of Eid they’re closed)

Update: Below is a picture of the kiosk taken by John Newton back in 2009. I can’t believe how much the whole area has changed.

Spotted the above sign on the Gulf Road seaside path. I guess they’re either keeping their eye out for car thieves or more serious criminals like illegal barbecuers.

I mentioned the other day that I had heard Kuwait was sending a delegation to Switzerland in hopes of getting things sorted before the Olympics start at the end of the month. Looks like they were successful because the International Olympic Committee just approved Kuwait’s request to hoist the National Flag and the playing of the Kuwaiti National Anthem at the London Olympics.

Minister of Communications and Acting Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Salem Al-Utheina on Saturday congratulated all Kuwaitis on the approval of the International Olympic Committee of Kuwait’s request to hoist the National Flag at the upcoming Olympic games in London and playing of the Kuwaiti National Anthem.

The Minister told KUNA that he was informed of the approval following his second meeting earlier today with the Committee’s President Jacques Rogge.

Al-Utheina had delivered a letter from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Rogge at the Committee’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on hoisting the flag of Kuwait in the Olympic Games, which kick off in London on July 27. [Source]

Congrats and good luck to all the athletes, Team Kuwait is a go!

Had lunch today at OFK and tried their new no-frills burger called The Emperor. It comes with a thick 8oz beef patty, cheddar cheese, roasted onions and a soft milk bun. No ketchup, no mustard and no special sauce, just a pure real burger. The verdict? Right now I think it’s the best burger in Kuwait.

His&Hers found a video of a short interview with Kuwaiti Olympic swimmer Faye Sultan whom I posted about early on in the week. As of now the Kuwaiti athletes will still be competing under the Olympic flag due to Kuwait being banned by the IOC. But, I also heard that a delegation got sent to Switzerland yesterday in hopes of getting things sorted before the Olympics begins. You can watch Faye’s interview [Here]

+1 for the Nirvana tshirt

Agi Architects was awarded with a “A’ Design Award” for their proposed hospital design which is pictured above.

You can find out more about the Kuwait Children’s Hospital design [Here] and you can read about the award [Here]

Early bird registration just opened for this years Flying Start Triathlon. They’ve got two levels of competition, The Sprint and The Olympic. If there wasn’t any swimming involved I might have been able to compete in The Sprint level but I can barely swim a lap around the pool before collapsing from exhaustion.

The event takes place on the 19th of October but early registration earns you a 20% discount. If you’re interested to find out more head to their Facebook page [Here]

Lulu are opening a new location in Dajeej Farwaniya right next to Sears. From the outside the location looks pretty huge although I’m not sure if it’s going to end up being their largest branch in Kuwait. What I like about the location though is that it’s closer to Salmiya than their Al Qurain branch which is currently my favorite. This would be their fourth location in Kuwait and according to a worker I spotted on site they should be opening right after Ramadan.

The other day I found out that Kuwait is going to have its first female Olympian swimmer and it got me thinking… who else is on Team Kuwait? Who are the other athletes that are going to be participating next month in the summer Olympics? Does anyone know?

Team USA have an amazing website listing all the sports they’ll be participating in as well as who will be representing them. We don’t have to have anything fancy like that, just a simple list would be enough since right now we don’t even have that. I just got the domain teamkuwait.com and as soon as I have a good amount of names I’m going to start uploading them there but I need your help.

If you have any idea who is going to be participating at the Olympics next month please email me or leave a comment below.

So far this is the list:
Swimming: Faye Sultan
Shooting: Mariam Erzouqi

Update: Thanks to Buz Fairy, this is the full list of Kuwaiti athletes participating in the Olympics next month:

Shooting:
– Fuhaid Al-Daihani in Double Trap (men)
– Abdulla Al-Rashidi in Skeet (men)
– Talal Al-Rashidi in Trap (men)
– Maryam Erzouqi in 10 meter Air Rifle (women)

Track and Field:
– Ali Al-Zankawi in Hammer Throw (men)
– Mohammad Al-Azmi in 800 Meters (men)
– AbdulAziz Al-Mandeel in 110 Meter Hurdles (men)
– Salsabeel Al-Sayyar in 100 meters (women)

Table Tennis:
– Ibrahim Al-Hassan (men)

Swimming:
– Yousef Al-Askari 100 meter freestyle/backstroke (men)
– Fay Al-Hussain in 100 meter freestyle (women)

Final tally is 11 Kuwaiti athletes, 8 men and 3 women.

Update2: Here is an article about Yousef (pictured below) who is currently a high school student in Florida. [Link]

After posting about On Cost the other day I decided to pass by and check it out myself. From the pictures (and logo) it looked like Kuwait’s version of Costco and on some level it is but mostly it isn’t. The place turned out to be a lot smaller than I was expecting it to be. There also isn’t an electronics section, a clothing section or a hardware or home-ware section. The way everything is displayed thought make it looks like a Costco but it’s more of a supermarket then a full fledged all in one retailer. I picked up a label maker from their small office supply section. I got it for around KD3 less than I had seen it somewhere else.

Finding the place was easy. Just take the 6th Ring Road and if 360 Mall is on your right keep heading straight past the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium. Keep driving until you pass the new Kuwait University campus on your left (currently just hills and hills of sand) and then after that in a bit you’ll see a sign for the 604 exit. Once you take the exit stop at the traffic light and then take a left and pass under the bridge. Then keep driving straight until you get to a roundabout, you should spot what looks like a huge ass mall in the middle of the desert on your right, that’s the vegetable market and On Cost is located there.

Update: Here is a link to the location on [Google Maps]

Qatar has retained its position as the Middle East’s most innovative economy in the annual Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII).
…
The study, commissioned by leading business school INSEAD in partnership with other firms, scored 141 countries based on the degree to which their economic environment enables innovation, as well as actual innovative outputs.
…
Saudi Arabia was ranked 48th (up six places on 2011) while Kuwait was the lowest ranked GCC nation at 55th, down from 52nd last year.

Ouch! [Link]

The AlJazi Villas are the villas located right in front of The Village in Abulhasaniya. I always thought they looked interesting from the outside but was curious to know how the inside looked like as well. Conveniently, I just noticed ArchofKuwait have pictures of the interior as well as some information on how the project originated. They’re pretty cool villas and you can check out the photos [Here]

Back in January I posted that Kim Kardashian would be coming to Kuwait for the launch of Million of Milkshakes by the end of the year and last night she confirmed on twitter that she’s coming in October. I think that’s pretty cool since we don’t get that many celebrities in Kuwait.

Ama Traveller just posted pictures and information on a new place that opened up in Kuwait called “On Cost”. Judging by the pictures and her comments it looks very similar in style to the very popular large US retailer, Costco. Need to pass by and check it out myself but you can check out her post and pictures [Here]