2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I love interesting stories about Kuwait and this one is particularly fascinating because I was able to get so much information, photos, and newspaper clippings to go along with it. Last week I got an email from someone telling me that their dad back in 1970 became the first and only Kuwaiti to ever be drafted by the NFL. They wanted to know if I’d be interested in telling the story and obviously, I jumped all over it! I really wanted to know how someone from Kuwait in the 60s ended up in the NFL so I met with his two sons and managed to get the full story.

Back in the 60s, their father Maher Barakat graduated from Shuwaikh High School for boys and received a government scholarship to attend the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. When Maher was in Kuwait he used to play soccer with his friends and family and he was known to be a powerful striker who was accurate and usually scored a lot of goals. It was soccer that got him into the NFL, and it was also soccer that ended his NFL career.

During one of his PE classes in college, Maher was given an opportunity to Punt (kick) a weird-shaped ball into a U-shaped goal. He hadn’t played American Football before but apparently, it was very easy for him to kick the ball as he used to when playing soccer. The coach then asked him to do it again and Maher scored the ball again. The coach then moved him to different points around the field and kept asking Maher to try and score from there and Maher would keep kicking the ball through the posts. After completing the assessment, Maher was given an offer by the coach to join the college football team as their starting punter and Maher accepted the offer.

Though his punting style was unconventional (leaning more towards a soccer kick), Maher Barakat became a star at South Dakota. He ended up breaking college and division records, which is most likely how he was spotted by NFL scouts. Maher became really well known in his college town and earned the nickname Bear-Cat.

Maher was officially drafted by the NFL in 1970 and became the first football player from his college as well as the first Kuwaiti to ever be drafted to the pros. Bear-Cat was approached by a number of NFL teams such as the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, and St. Louis Cardinals but ended up choosing to sign with the Broncos.

In the summer after signing his NFL contract, Maher Barakat flew back to Kuwait to see his family and share the good news. Once back in Kuwait he was eager to play soccer with his friends just like he used to in the old days and that’s where the story takes a turn. Unfortunately while playing soccer with his friends, Maher ends up fracturing his toe. Even after healing, he couldn’t kick the same anymore and that was the end of his American Football career.

Maher eventually graduated and moved back to Kuwait where he worked in the Ministry of Electricity until the early 80s when he decided to leave to start his own business. He ended up opening what eventually became the popular video store, Blue Belt (حزام أزرق) and held the rights to WWF (now WWE) for the GCC (that needs a whole separate post). In the 90s he also became the partner in IVC, the video store located next to Fanar Mall.

Maher had kept all the newspaper clippings and photos from his college years and his sons passed them to me to share. There were a lot but I chose to share the ones I thought were the most interesting and informative. I’ve shared some in this post but you can download the PDF with all the articles, photos and letters I scanned by clicking this link Maher-Barakat.pdf

There is very little information about Maher online so I really appreciate that his sons decided to share this with me. According to them their dad doesn’t like talking about himself and so very few people know of his story and accomplishment. Hopefully, after today he’ll get the recognition he deserves.

Q8 Books, the popular used books store has a long history of moving. The original store was located in Kuwait City (pictured below) before later moving to Bayt Lothan. When Bayt Lothan got shut down they moved the bookstore to Dar Al Athar. Then last year during the pandemic the bookstore moved temporarily to another location in a tower overlooking Souq Sharq. Now for the fifth time, the store is moving again and it’s heading back to the city. The new location will be in Dasman Complex and I got a sneak peek last week and I think this might be the best version of Q8 Books yet, or maybe second best since the Bayt Lothan store was pretty epic.

I can’t share much more about the new location or plans yet but they’re opening up really soon and once they do I’ll share more info. For now, you can stay up to date by following them on Instagram @q8bookstore

The original Q8 Books location in Kuwait City.

There is this really great grills restaurant in the Salmiya Co-op mall that’s been there since the early 80s. What caught my attention the first time I saw it a few years ago was the cool-looking vintage sign outside the shop. It’s a really tiny place with just 4 tables and caters mostly to takeaway. They have Lebanese-style kebab and grills and it’s very affordable. The Kebab plate is 1.250 for 5 skewers, and hummus is 500fils.

The reason I’m posting about this place is the other day while having dinner there I realized something. Nearly everyone working there was over 60 years old. The waiter looks like he’s in his late 70s or 80s and the other staff not that far behind. With the new law that was implemented last year deporting expats over 60 without degrees, none of the staff at the place would remain. I thought it was pretty sad since most of them have probably been working there together like a small family since forever. Now because of the new law, they’d all be forced to separate and leave.

Even the chai haleeb guy in the shop across from the grill’s place is over 60 years old and would also have to leave. It’s so upsetting!

All these old staff you see at your favorite old-school restaurants aren’t going to be there for long. So pass by and appreciate them and the experience before it’s too late.

A few years ago, I posted about digitizing your old videos using a video capture device that plugs into your computer. It’s a great way to convert all tapes, but the downside is you needed the actual tape player. If you just had videotapes but no means of playing them then the capture device was pretty much useless. This was my dilemma, I had an old Betamax tape of a school ski trip and no means to play it. I considered buying a Betamax player but the cheapest I found was 50KD and so wasn’t going to be worth it for just one video.

Someone ages ago told me Al-Nazaer converted videos but since all their stores closed down years ago I couldn’t just visit them and ask them about it. So last week while feeling nostalgic I decided to call their head office in Subhan and ask about it. Turns out they have a small media academy in Hawalli that was still functional, and that’s where their digital conversion studio was located.

I headed straight to the studio with my Betamax tape and headed to their conversion studio. I asked if they could convert Betamax tapes and they said yes and took my tape and played it on their screen so we could check and see if it was working. A few seconds later my 11-year-old self popped up on the screen.

It was the first time I had ever seen myself as a kid in the 80s on video and it felt SO WEIRD!

During the 1990 invasion, we took most of our family videos to Lebanon and stored them away in our family home without any means to watch them. So no one in my family has watched any of our family videos that were filmed in the 80s for 30+ years. Since I had no idea what was on this video and since I had never seen myself on video as a kid, it felt like I was watching a video of myself in another dimension. That’s the best way I could describe it in words, it was a very strange feeling.

But anyway, back to the subject of converting videos, Al Nazaer can convert any video format to digital. So camcorder videos like Hi8 or miniDV, VHS tapes and Betamax tapes are all no issues. The cost of converting depends on the kind of tapes you have and how many you want to convert. They charged me KD10 to convert a single Betamax tape and I got the footage on a DVD as well as a digital file. The more tapes you have the better price. Their studio is located on the first floor of the building across the street from Muhallab Mall. Their phone number is 1888900 and here is their location on Google Maps.

You can also find them on Instagram @alnazaer

I recently heard that they might be demolishing Mishref Palace and obviously if true, that’s upsetting. But also no surprise since there seems to be a general lack of care for old important buildings in Kuwait. Anyway here are some videos showcasing the palace back in the 50s and a video showing the state of the palace today.

I think this would be such a great location for an art museum, similar to the Getty museum in LA. Does anyone know the actual name of the palace since I might be able to dig out some old photographs and videos?

Those who follow the blog regularly know I’m a big fan of the PASS app which is a ticketless and cashless parking service. I hate carrying cash and I especially don’t like touching any parking buttons right now so PASS really makes the parking process less stressful. Mawqif is another similar service I started using recently that seems to have taken the same concept as PASS and improved on it.

The biggest issue with PASS I think was the fact parking operators needed to install expensive license plate reading cameras. Mawqif on the other hand gives parking lots two options, install the cameras and give Mawqif customers a ticketless experience, or use their barcode ticketing system which allows Mawqif app users to scan the barcode and pay for the parking by phone. The advantage to Mawqif users is you’ll end up finding the service in more parking lots including the smaller ones. For example, the small and old multistory lot next to my favorite Korean restaurant Koryokwan uses the ticket barcode service, but the Salhiya parking lot has the ticketless experience.

Another great feature with Mawqif is that it shows you how many spots are available at the parking lots through the app and their hourly fees. Finally, Mawqif also doesn’t charge any fees, so whatever you usually pay for your parking you continue to do so even if you used their app.

If you want to download Mawqif and try it for yourself or if you want to find out more about it then check out their website mawqiftech.com.

On a side note, dear 360 Mall, please bring back PASS or install Mawqif at your parking lots. Thanks!

There is an instagram account called @beach_finder35 and it’s a guy that goes around with a metal detector trying to find buried treasures in the desert and beaches. So far he’s found old coins, military buttons dating back to WWI, bullet casings over 100 years old, a ton of rings, and lots of other interesting stuff. It’s really fascinating. He even posted about an old water well that used to be used back in the old days and still functions as a water well today. I love it so check out his account @beach_finder35

Thanks @mvntasar

There is a huge pit behind my house at a construction site. They dug the hole to start building but then they found pockets of water underground and construction stopped and they’ve just been pumping the water out for weeks now. On the side of the construction site, the side that is connected to the two-way main road where people also walk there is no barrier. It’s just flat dirt and then instantly a deep three-floor drop. It’s pretty dangerous as you can imagine especially at night.

So I got the Baladiya Whatsapp number and sent them a photo of the problem and the location. No response. I did that over a period of three weeks, every few days sending them a new photo, I even start outlining the problem with a pen tool so they know what I’m talking about. Sometimes they respond asking for the location, most of the time nothing.

@kuwmun I don’t get it, do you guys not consider this a safety hazard? Because I’ve contacted you about it 4 times now and nothing is being done. pic.twitter.com/nu8efdW0oN

— mark248am (@mark248am) May 30, 2021

I then decided to try reaching out on twitter. I tweeted them telling them I’ve been Whatsapping them about an issue and shared the photos but again no response. Three days later I tweeted to them again still no response. Even a minister reached out to me on twitter and was very nice and stated that even though this issue didn’t fall under their authority, they would still escalate the matter with the municipality. I thought things were finally going to get sorted but two days later and still no change at all.

@kuwmun Here are Top 3 reasons why having no barrier is dangerous pic.twitter.com/5MkMk2zq3X

— mark248am (@mark248am) June 1, 2021

Finally one of my followers left me a tweet on how my situation reminded him of “The Pit” on one of my favorite comedies Parks & Recreation. I don’t know how I hadn’t seen that but it completely changed my mindset on the subject. Since being serious hadn’t worked I figured I’d inject a bit of humor into the problem. So first thing I did was tweet the municipality “The Pit” song from Parks & Rec and then followed that with my top 3 list of reasons why having no barrier is dangerous.

They never responded to me on twitter obviously but I think they started trolling me back on whatsapp because they responded to a photo I had sent them with a message asking me to write the problem in Arabic. I’ve lost hope that this issue will get resolved but at least I find the whole thing funny now and so I’m less pissed off about it.

Update: It took 14 days of constant nagging and they finally closed up the pit wall!

This initiative started when a generous donor wanted to serve the community and decided to provide them with a proper bus stop that also included a water fountain. The person approached a design studio called manmade and together they created and installed the bus stop pictured above.

It’s actually a fairly simple and easy to construct design that I wouldn’t mind if it got applied around Kuwait. The one above is located on Salem Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Street and you can find a bit more info on @meemalessa’s Instagram account.

Yesterday @badshaiji posted the photo above taken back in 1975 of the old Kuwait Television studios that were located in Dasman. For those of you old enough, turns out that’s pretty much the same compound where Villa Moda and Mais Alghanim used to be located. I didn’t realize that location had previously been the KTV studios and offices so I decided to pass by after work and explore the area.

The last time I visited that compound I think was around 6 years ago. I was looking for a location for an event and decided to check out the old Villa Moda building. Back then it looked like some businesses were occupying the various buildings in the compound but when I passed by yesterday it was completely deserted.

There was nobody there and nearly all of the buildings had their roofs caved in and were in a horrible state. I actually ended up banging my head on a fallen beam so now I have a big bruise across my forehead. I should learn to keep my hard hat in the car so I could use it on these spontaneous explorations.

It’s pretty sad that this is all that’s left of the old studios. The compound is pretty big and I could have seen these buildings being utilized for so many things from restaurants, to design and photography studios to a museum celebrating Kuwait’s rich broadcasting and theater past.

If you want to know the exact location of this abandoned compound, here it is on Google Maps.

For someone that spends so much time trying to dig up stuff on Kuwait I don’t know how I just found out there was an English newspaper back in the 60s and 70s in Kuwait called “The Daily News”. I found two copies of the newspaper this weekend while sifting through a pile of old newspapers at an old books and magazines sale in Sulaibiya and was completely caught by surprise since I didn’t know this paper ever existed.

One copy is dated Wednesday August 16, 1972 while the other Wednesday October 17, 1973. The newspaper is described as “Leading Political Daily Newspaper in Arabian Gulf” and Edititor-in-Chief was Fahed Al Massaeed. The newspaper was published by Al Rai Al Aam and was launched in 1963. I’ve found no information about it online which is why I never knew about it.

Both issues mostly covered international news but there were a few articles and ads in the papers that were super interesting. For example, one paper had a TV guide while the other one had a radio guide. Then one of the issues had a section called Kuwait Dateline which must be equivalent to a 1970s version of Twitter. Actually, I thought Dateline was really bizarre, why would random people reading the newspaper be interested in this info I have no idea, and they’re so detailed! For example:

Al Haj Nicola Abu Khater, Bristol Hotel Manager flew for one day – stay in Lebanon which he spent with his children in Aljtoun.

It must have been a thing they did back then because traveling wasn’t so common?

Another interesting article I found was regarding the acquittal of the editor-in-chief of the Al-Siyassa newspaper Ahmad Jarallah from the charges brought against him. I only know of Ahmad Jarallah because he’s constantly in the news, always being referred to the public prosecution or always having charges against him dropped. So seeing this article from 1973 which wouldn’t seem out of place today put a smile on my face. He’s STILL the editor-in-chief of the Al-Siyassa newspaper today and he’s STILL getting in trouble with the courts, I love that!

Anyway, I’ve uploaded all the interesting bits from both papers and you can check them out above and in the post below (click on more).

If you’re looking for something to do then this exhibit might be interesting to visit:

SADI is an ambitious program envisioned by AlSadu Society to encourage creativity and innovation in contemporary textile arts and design for artists in Kuwait. Every year, we invite 5 artists from various creative backgrounds to be a part of the program, and explore a particular element of sadu.

Drawing on the unique global circumstances that have both connected and disconnected us, this year’s “SADI 2021: Connectivity Through Art” exhibit features the works of Ahmad AlAjmi, Fatema Al Bader, Sheikha Al Habshi, Razan Al Sarraf, and Fay Al Awadhi who have explored the principles of sadu and connectivity, and how the two interweave with modern art.

Opening: Saturday, May 29th 2021 at 5PM
​​Exhibit Dates: May 29th – June 7th 2021
​​Hours: 10AM – 2PM, 4PM – 8PM
​​Location: Sadu House

You need to pre-book your visit in advance due to Covid restrictions. Here is the booking link.

Spotted the brand new colored iMac at Gait this weekend. The price for the entry model is KD450 which isn’t so bad when compared to Apple’s US price of KD390 (not including shipping or tax). I ordered my iMac from the US store but only because I needed custom specs (1TB and 16GB of RAM) but if I was looking for a standard build I think I would have most likely purchased it locally.

The CAP Bookshop which carries amazing publishers like Assouline, Phaidon, Taschen and Thames & Hudson has moved into a much larger space next to their old location. The new location is at least 5 to 6 times larger than their previous space and they now have a lot more books on display.

This easily was one of my favorite bookshops in Kuwait and it’s gotten even better now. If you want to pass by and check it out it’s located on the top floor of Life Center in Shuwaikh, right next to Contemporary Art Platform. Google Maps

Here’s a feel-good post to cap off the week. A new cafe opened up in Salmiya called 3-12 and it’s run by adults with special needs. The cafe is located on the first floor of Dalal Mall, the same mall as Sky Cinemas and located across Zahra Complex. You can also check them out on Instagram @cafe_312

After picking up a coffee make sure you pass by Kane Mochi and pick up some ice cream.