2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003I got this footage yesterday when I met the Al Hamra Tower people. It’s a time-lapse from the start of construction back in December 2005 all the way up to February 2011. They’ve had two cameras pointed at the site from the very start, one is located on Al Raya the other on Al Khalejiah. [YouTube]
Note: There is no sound
One of the best things about blogging is the fact I get invited to check out a lot of cool work in progress projects like Messilah Beach, Missoni Hotel and The Regency Palace. My dad’s an interior designer and as a kid I used to tag along with him on Friday mornings to various construction sites which is why now whenever I get invited to visit one I can never say no. It brings back good childhood memories and that’s why when I was asked if I wanted to tour the Al Hamra Tower I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve been a big fan of the tower for a long time to get a tour of it before completion would literally be a once in a life time opportunity since they’re only going to build it once.
First a bit of history and some facts. Al Hamra used to be Kuwait’s and the GCC’s first indoor cinema. It had two large theaters, one played Bollywood movies while the other played Western movies. Al Hamra Tower is being built in the same location where Al Hamra Cinema used to be located. It’s currently the second tallest building in the region with Burj Khalifa being the tallest. It’s the tallest asymmetrical structure in the world (no side is like the other side) and it’s also the second tallest concrete building in the world.
So my tour started off with a video presentation of the tower. It wasn’t really boring since there was a presenter and I was able to interrupt and ask questions. After the presentation I was taken to the mall that’s located at the bottom of the tower. The mall is made up of five floors and each floor will be around the size of a floor at Al Raya mall across the street. The fifth floor will hold the Al Hamra Cinema. Whats special about this cinema is the fact it will be the first non-Cinescape theater in 50 years. Back in 1953 Cinescape got a 50 year exclusivity for cinema’s in Kuwait. That exclusivity expired in 2003. The mall will be a luxurious one and having Hermes there is a good start.
Once we were done walking around the mall we headed to the main tower lobby (pictured above) which is really going to be huge when completed. Although the tower is super tall your average wait time for a lift will be under 30 seconds, the lift also travels at a speed of 10 floors a second. To get to the top floor of the tower we had to take a lift up to a lobby on the 54th floor I think and then swap to another lift and continue up to the very last floor.
[YouTube]
Once we got to the last floor it was filled with scaffolding since they still have a few more glass panels they’re installing at the very top. But the space up there is just astonishing, the ceiling is incredibly high and the view is just overwhelming. I shot the video above to try and show what I was experiencing and seeing but you really need to be there (Trivia: Can you tell when I hit my head on a scaffolding? Luckily I was wearing a hard hat!). Once completed this last floor will sadly be a private invite only chairman’s club and not a restaurant like I had previously heard. This means very few people will actually get to enjoy this beautiful view.
It’s hard not to like Al Hamra Tower, it’s an office tower done right and we don’t have many “done right” projects in Kuwait. I really can’t wait for it to launch which should be September of this year. Below are some pictures I took today.
Update: Forgot to mention that the windows will be cleaned by a team of robots and it will take a month to clean all the windows. Burj Khalifa on the other hand employs 36 window cleaners who take 3 months to clean all the windows. Burj Arab I believe uses 2 people who take a full month to clean their windows.
Al Manshar Rotana always have some pretty cool music events taking place poolside. This time they’re holding a Lebanese night with a live band playing some Lebanese classics.
Location: Al Manshar Rotana – Rooftop pool
Date: March 31st, 2011
Price: KD12 per person (includes dinner)
For reservations call +96523931000 ext 223. Here is a link to their flyer which also contains contact information [Link]
I found out today that Hermès will be opening up their first store in Kuwait this September. The store is going to be huge and will be located at the Al Hamra Tower. I guess you should get your wish list ready come this fall…
I just got back home after spending around an hour walking in Salmiya taking pictures of the dust storm. It was a very uncomfortable experience since I didn’t have a mask or goggles but I think I got some pretty good pictures. I am going to go through them now and try to post the best ones up tonight but I have a few I posted on twitter which I took with my iPhone like the one above of a guy wearing a plastic bag on his head. You can check out my twitter photos [Here]
Back in March 2003 I posted pictures of what until today I thought was the worst dust storm that hit Kuwait but looking at those pictures right now I realized today’s dust storm is the strongest I’ve ever seen in Kuwait. You can check out my old post from 2003 with the pictures [Here]
Update: Below are a few pictures I like from the ones I shot tonight.
This is a very cool event that’s happening tomorrow, Saturday the 26th of March at Pro Kart. It’s actually a bunch of events which I will try my best to explain clearly.
Karting Speed Max Challenge 4 Hours
The first event is a 4 hour karting race. 40 drivers will compete in scoring the best time with 5 drivers racing every heat and the winner continuing on to the final race. The race starts at 4PM and ends at 8PM. The race is open to the public and it’s free of charge!
Dolphin Karting Cup
The second event is an event for juniors aged 5 to 8 year-olds. This race event starts at 3PM and is also free of charge.
Motocross Challenge
The final event is a motocross challenge which will be held at the motocross track adjacent to the karting one. This event will start at 1PM and will be divided into a seniors and juniors race. Participating in this event is also free but unlike the karting events you would need to bring your own dirt bike here.
For more information on these events and a map to the location plus contact numbers you can visit the Pro Kart website [Here]
*****NOTICE*****
Due to the dust storm the event was postponed till next week.
Yesterday there was an article in Arab Times about how the Ministry of Interior will start taking fingerprints of all incoming and outgoing passengers. Well it seems this is going to happen very soon since the fingerprint devices have already been installed at the airport. I took the picture above last night when I arrived to Kuwait, not sure why they don’t use the scanning device that was installed back in 2008 (pictured below) but never put into operation. [Article]
This is a really well made local parkour video, actually, it’s easily the best locally produced extreme sports video I’ve seen to date. The parkour team in the video above is a new Kuwaiti team that has been training for a couple of years now and this is their first video. The members are:
Members (الأعضاء):
Jaber Ali Al-Kinany (جابر علي الكناني)
Mohammad Ahmad Al-Attar (محمد أحمد العطار)
Yousif Jawad Al-Attar (يوسف جواد العطار)
Barrak Abbas Al-Qallaf (براك عباس القلاف)
Abdulmohsen Sleem Al-Roomy (عبدالمحسن سليم الرومي)
Abdullah jalal Sheshtar (عبدالله جلال ششتر)
Really cool. [YouTube]
I found out about the website Local Tees from Me Blogging. What I understood from her is that you send them your designs and if they like it they will print a limited run of tshirts based on it and then sell it on their website. Although she doesn’t mention it I am guessing you would also get a cut of the profits made from your tshirt design. It’s not a new idea but that doesn’t matter since it’s a good one and going by the the designs already available on their website they’re not after generic ones but after designs that relate to the local region which is the way it should be done. The photography on the site (like the one above) is also very well done and helps set a trendy tone through out.
My only issue with the website is the fact it’s flash based! Not sure who still makes a flash based website now a days but they’ve got one and there is no skip button which drove me crazy. My second issue is the fact that practically all the tshirts are white, which might be fine for others but personally I only wear dark colored tshirts so at the moment there isn’t a tshirt I could buy for myself.
You can check their website by clicking [Here]
To skip the flash site and head directly to the store click [Here]
Thanks Romeo
According to 360Dewan, unlike I had previously posted, Sylvester Stallone won’t be coming to the opening of Planet Hollywood. Seems he’s worried about the situation in the region. That sucks big time since I was really hoping to get his autograph. Anyway you can check out their review of Planet Hollywood [Here]
Found this link to a forum with pictures of old Kuwaiti architecture via The Buz Fairy. There are a lot of shots I had seen before but there are also some which I hadn’t. I really love the building above, looked modern today and that picture was taken back in 1962. [Link]
I’m currently in Lebanon so I can’t pass by but this looks like an interesting (and trippy) art exhibition to check out.
Stories of Eve is a collection of Eve and her sisters daily adventures and narratives whereby we follow the girls through their lives daily routines, squabbles and mundane pleasures.
Artist: Ghadah Alkandari
Location: Tilal Gallery
Date: March 20th to March 29th 2011
Time: 10AM to 2PM and 5:30AM to 9:30PM
For more information including a map to the gallery check this [Link]
There is an interesting article on 5 things that Donald Duck invented and Kuwait was mentioned in one of the stories:
In 1964, a freighter capsized off the coast of Kuwait. This caused a bit of a problem, as the ship’s hold had been filled with 5,000 sheep, who were now drowned and decomposing in close proximity to Kuwait’s drinking water. And really, no one wants to drink dead sheep water (well, except maybe the Scots). So Danish inventor Karl Kroyer designed a ship-raising technique that involved filling the vessel with small, buoyant balls injected through a tube. The combined buoyancy of which would float the ship to the surface. It took 27 million balls, but it worked. The Al Kuwait rose from the depths, with the furious ghosts of 5,000 dead sheep and all.
So, what does this have to do with Donald Duck? Well, Kroyer wanted to patent his idea and so he applied for it at a Dutch office but they stopped him accusing him of stealing his idea from Donald Duck. Turns out in one of the Donald Duck stories they lifted a sunken ship by pumping millions of ping pong balls into it, an idea similar to Kroyer’s. Anyway you can read the full article and check out the original comic by following this [Link]
I thought is was interesting that the first ship ever raised from the sea bed was here in the coastal waters of Kuwait.
Thanks lloyd_911
