2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Weekly roundup from 248AM Fashion:
Nike X Roundel by London Underground
Rad Hourani Unisex Couture Collection #11
The Fashion Dose
When I Wore Sacoor Brothers
White Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver
All that is Balenciaga
Ann Demeulemeester In Book Deal With Rizzoli
For more fashion related news check out 248AM Fashion
Deera is an iPhone app which allows you to report issues with public services. The way it works is very simple, you snap a photo of the problem, specify what the issue is along with the location and then submit it. According to a reader who emailed me about this last night, he tried it by reporting waste left on an empty plot next to his house and the next day he received a notification that the problem was fixed. I haven’t tried it yet myself but I’m going to later today.
If you want try this app you can download it from the Apple Store either by searching for Deera or by clicking [Here]
Thursday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Friday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
7Market – Rooftop Garden Event
2014 KMX Motorcross Championship
Saturday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
TOMORROW’S PAST / Mohammed AlKouh
All Day Outing: Failaka Island Tour
Artists for K’S PATH 2014
Cinemagics Rooftop Movie: Playtime
7Market – Rooftop Garden Event
2014 KMX Motorcross Championship
According to an article published on Interactive Travel, the new Kuwait Airways planes that will start arriving at the end of the year will allow you to use your mobile phone during flight as well as connect online via WiFi.
The airline has ordered five A330s and seven A320s, all of which will be line fitted with Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir. The first A320 and first A330 will be delivered in December 2014 and May 2015.
If this actually happens I might start flying Kuwait Airways again. [Link]
The Kuwait National American Football team is currently in Korea to play against the Korean American Football team in a Asian qualifier game for the IFAF Seniors World Championship Sweden 2015.
The Kuwait Gridiron Football Federation was founded in 2010, has no official league and has minimal international experience. On the other hand, the Korean American Football Association was founded in 1946, has a 21 college team league, and was ranked 5th in the IFAF World Championships Japan 2007.
The match is taking place on April 12th and to keep up to date with the Kuwait team news follow them on Facebook [Here]
If you haven’t visited the Remal Sand Sculpting Festival yet you can now take a tour of it without having to leave your house. A reader called Alex has created a virtual tour of the festival and you can check it out by visiting this [Link]
I love exploring abandoned buildings and from all the abandoned places in Kuwait the one I’ve always wanted to explore was Qasr Al Salam. Its the holy grail of abandoned buildings and the only one I could never get the guts to jump over the fence and explore (luckily I didn’t cuz it turns out there are two guards). After trying to get legal access to the site for what seems like forever, I finally got the approval thanks to Al-Diwan Al-Amiri.
Qasr Al Salam was a guest house that was built back in the 60s and hosted high-ranking visitors. Supposedly the first guest to stay at the palace was the Shah of Iran but I couldn’t find any source online to back that up. Actually, I could find very little information at all on the palace online. I know that Princess Diana and Prince Charles stayed at the palace back in 1989, but I can’t find the date it was built, who the architect was or even pictures. I’ve literally only found a handful of photos of the palace pre-1990 and nothing else. During the 1990 Gulf War the palace was destroyed and it never got restored and has remained abandoned for 24 years. That is until now.
Now some good news, unlike the rumors that have been circulating, the palace will NOT be getting demolished. Instead, the palace is going to be restored to its former glory and be turned into a museum. I saw 3D renderings of how the palace will look like when completed and it’s going to look very similar to the original with some minor facelifting here and there and addition of a new wing or two. The bad news is I can’t share the 3D renderings just yet since I’m still working on trying to convince them to allow me to post them here but right now I can’t.
Whats even more interesting is whats going on right next door at the old flag square. The site is currently under major construction and I also got to see renderings of the project and I was just awestruck. There are four very angular buildings being built, an opera house, a music center, a theatre and a library. The buildings will be made out of titanium shells and will have no pillars at all on the inside. The landscaping around the project is also going to be nothing like anything in Kuwait as well and the best part is they’re expecting to have it all done and completed in just 18 months. Thats a timeframe fit for Dubai. I’m trying to get permission to share the drawings and renderings of this project as well and hopefully I will be able to by next week.
After getting briefed on the projects above I was taken to the Salam Palace to explore and take photos. The palace even though completely destroyed still had so much beauty left in it. The famous large chandelier that used to hang from the ceiling in the main hall had been dismantled and removed so I didn’t get to see it sadly. But a lot of the original mosaic, wallpaper, carpets and marble floor were still in place. One thing that struck me was the amount of colors used inside the palace and all very tastefully. There was a lot of colored glass everywhere and the mosaic in the main hall was a beautiful metallic purple color. There was a lot of carpeting everywhere but in places where the carpet was removed you could see the beautifully preserved marble floor underneath. It seems at one point in time the palace must have gotten a makeover and a lot of the marble floors were covered up in carpet. I took a lot of photos and I’ve shared them below. I honestly could easily have spent a day in there trying to document every single corner of the place but sadly I didn’t have the luxury of time on my side. I hope you enjoy the photos below and I’ll try my best to get permission to post the renderings next week.
KREATE is an exhibition currently taking place at Bayt Lothan where local artists are showcasing their work in ways that are both interactive and engaging. I passed by last night and thought there was some interesting work.
The event is going to be on today and tomorrow as well so if you’re looking for something to do pass by and check it out. Here are the details [Link]
I just got back from the protest outside the original Chamber of Commerce and Industry building and I have to say, I’m a bit disappointed. There were only around 30 people there mostly consisting of young Kuwaiti architects which makes me wonder, where was everyone else? I know a lot more than just 30 people care about saving Kuwait’s architectural heritage but they just weren’t there.
I was kinda joking around with a friend that maybe if there was valet more people would show up but I’m starting to think that it might have actually attracted more people. In any case the owner of the building was there and he actually wants to preserve the building but the baladiya only gave approval on demolishing and not refurbishing. Too much politics, but hopefully this is going to get solved and the building will be saved. But even if this building is saved today, there will still be more that need saving tomorrow.
Photo on top by @jassamino
Back in 2011 I posted the picture above of the original Chamber of Commerce and Industry building. I loved the old architecture in the building and I wrote about how I hope it was not going to get demolished. Sadly last night they started demolishing the building.
The building is an important emblem of Kuwait’s modern heritage and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters was even trying to list it along with some of the surrounding buildings onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
This is why there will be a protest against this destruction this afternoon at 4:30PM beside the building. If it’s something you care about then pass by and show your support. Here is the location on [Google Maps]
Below is a shot of the building taken in the early 70s.
The airline’s first female CEO, who took control in December, said eventually she would like to reduce staff numbers even further.
“My target is 4,500 but I can’t do that this year,” she said.The airline is undergoing a major restructure after two decades of being burdened with old, inefficient aircraft, staff protectionism and a bloated workforce of 6,000.
I want to be optimistic but I find it hard to believe they’ll fire 1,000 government employees. [Link]
Update: Nevermind, I missed the line that said all the employees they are going to fire are foreigners. Now it makes sense.
AbiDoc is a website that allows you to search, find and book an appointment with a doctor all via their website. They originally launched last year but I wasn’t a fan of the website back then, it felt outdated and really sluggish but now they’ve given it a major facelift and relaunched it. The way it works is very simple, you select what kind of doctor you’re looking for and then select your area and the website will list all the doctors and their available timings.
Not all the clinics and hospitals in Kuwait are available though, only the ones that have signed up with AbiDoc in the same way not all restaurants are available on Talabat. For example I searched for “Physical Therapist” in “Salmiya” and got “Sorry, No Exact Matches Were Found” even though the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute is located down the block from my place. Still, the site contains a lot of doctors and the more popular AbiDoc gets the more will want to sign up with them. Check out their new website [Here]
The other day I noticed a bunch of old police cars on display outside the small police museum in Bneid Al Gar. I’m not sure how long they’ve been there for but they must be recent since I hadn’t noticed them before. Other than the ones pictured, there were two or three more older ones parked to the side.
I haven’t been inside the museum yet but in case you’re interested, they’re open from 8:30AM to 12PM and then again from 4:30PM to 8PM. On Fridays they’re open just from 4:30PM to 8PM. Here is the location on [Google Maps]
The Egg Minder is an egg tray that connects to the internet and can be accessed with an app so you can check and see how many eggs you still have in your fridge and how old they are. When I originally posted about it on my instagram account it happened to be on April 1st so some people thought it wasn’t a real product. Well it is real. The way it works is very simple, when you first turn on the Egg Minder you connect it to your home network via an app you download. Once you’re done you then place your eggs on the tray and put them away in the fridge. From that point on whenever you open the fridge door and the light comes on, the egg tray will turn on and connect to the internet. There are also little blue LEDs on the tray, they turn on in order of the oldest egg in the train to the newest one as you pick them up.
I don’t remember how I found out about the Egg Minder but when I did I knew I had to get one. I’ve had it for nearly a week now and I love it, mostly because of how absurd it is. But, I have to say that even though it’s really silly, it is actually useful. As someone who has eggs every morning and who does his own shopping, on more than one occasion I’ve ended up waking up to find out I had run out of eggs and forgotten to get some the night before. With the Egg Minder I will now get notified when I’m running low on eggs and I can also check and see how many eggs I still have at home while at the supermarket.
It’s a fun little gadget that doesn’t really cost that much. Even though the official price is around $70, ThinkGeek are selling it for just $29. It’s an impulse buy so if you’re interested in getting one, here is the [Link]
Short report by the BBC on Saad Lamjarred’s visit to Al Hamra Mall a few days ago. [Link]