2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
A completely random but interesting fact, I recently found out the beautifully designed Kuwait Embassy in Japan (pictured above) was designed by the same legendary architect behind the original Kuwait Airport, Kenzo Tange. The building was built in 1966, 13 years before the Kuwait Airport.
via @kashkool_kw
Note: If you click the original Kuwait Airport link you can see photos of how the Kuwait Airport originally looked like.
Although originally set to open back in 2012, Lu&Lu (previously know as just LuLu) finally opened up their Dajeej branch right next to Sears. That large block now contains a Sultan Center, a City Center and now a Lu&Lu. Here is a link to the location [Google Maps]
IKEA recently added a freezer to their little food store near the exit and they’re now selling frozen salmon as well as their popular Swedish meatballs, the KÖTTBULLAR. A packet contains 1KG of meatballs and they’re selling it for KD3 which isn’t too bad. For the healthy eaters, an 8oz of frozen salmon is for KD1.750 which is slightly cheaper than the fresh alternative sold at supermarkets.
@khaliji_woes is a humorous instagram account based out of Kuwait that highlights first world problems from the Gulf. Tons of good stuff so check it out [Here]
[YouTube]
If you missed out on the Red Bull event yesterday, here are two videos that should give you an idea of what you missed.
[YouTube]
The list below is in no particular order.
Gulf Bank (Al Danah)
1 chance for every KD100
Daily Draw: KD1,000 (2 winners)
Quarterly Draw: KD25,000 to KD500,000
Annual Draw: KD50,000 to KD1,000,000
[Link]
Burgan Bank (Yawmi)
1 chance for every KD10
Daily Draw: KD5,000
[Link]
National Bank of Kuwait (Al Jawhara)
1 chance for every KD50
Weekly Draw: KD5,000
Monthly Draw: KD125,000
Quarterly Draw: KD250,000
[Link]
Commercial Bank of Kuwait (Al Najma)
1 chance for every KD25
Daily Draw: KD7,000
Mega Draw (4 times a year): KD100,000
[Link]
Ahli United Bank (Al-Hassad Al-Islami)
1 chance for every KD50
Weekly Draw: KD1,000 (25 winners) + KD25,000 (1 winner)
Quarterly Draw: KD250,000
Eid Prizes = KD25,000 (24 winners)
[Link]
Found these photos in the @alahmadi_town instagram account. The one above is my favorite because of the fact it looks like it was taken in a small American town.
Thursday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
Ahmadi Inhabitants Gathering
World Theatre Day Celebration
Rooftop Cinemagic Movie: Fargo
Friday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
Ahmadi Inhabitants Gathering
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Formula One Show Run
Saturday
Remal Sand Sculpting Festival
Last Blast Carnival
Rooftop Cinemagic Movie: Russian Ark
GREAT British Automotive Showcase
Spring Strings Concert
Earth Hour
The biggest thing happening this weekend is the Red Bull Formula 1 car that will be racing down the Gulf Road. But, the Ahmadi event should also be a very interesting to those who are interested in Kuwait’s history.
Looks like a Mercedes C63 to me so that has to suck. [Link]
26 maart Kiele kiele Koeweit (1974) from Vandaag Voorheen on Vimeo.
I found the video above on Vimeo and it looked interesting since it was from 1974 and had something to do about Kuwait. But, I couldn’t understand anything since it was in Dutch so I sent the video to a friend of mine in Holland and asked him what it was about. This is what he emailed me back:
Haha… this is a funny carnival song from early 1974 about the oil-crisis of 1973. It’s because of this song the Dutch found out about the existence of Kuwait. The 4 guys were famous in the 70s because of their political cabaret show on television; Farce Majeure.
In 1973 Kuwait boycotted the US and Holland for their support of Israel in the 1973 War (Ramadan War). Because of the fear of running out of oil, Prime Minister Den Uyl took the decision to introduce the ‘oil-bon’. A maximum supply of oil for each person every month. Another measure was that cars were not allowed to drive on Sundays. Only doctors, firemen, police and others who could prove that it was absolutely necessary to use their car on Sunday were exempt. But those exceptions were only a few and basically it was a nice time in my youth, being able to roller skate and cycle on the empty highways.
The song is a simple carnival song. Kuwait, Kuwait, tickle, tickle, Kuwait, tickle, tickle Kuwait and so on.. Just funny, no offensive lyrics whatsoever. In the clip you see the official agent (honorair consul) of Kuwait in The Netherlands at that era, Mahmoud Rabbani. A nice person who earned a lot of respect from the Dutch people because of his approach. When he receives the 45″ single in the clip, he thanks the members of the group and add to this the memorable words;
‘Critisism is a good, as long as it’s brought with a sense of humor.’
Yeah, times have changed… 🙁
At first Kuwait was angry about the song and threatened with more diplomatic sanctions. They blamed the performers of the song for adding even more fuel to the fire. But, as you noticed, Mahmoud Rabbani acted wisely and became popular in Holland. Unfortunately not that much in Kuwait… but that’s another story.
A very interesting story, one I hadn’t heard about before.
Thanks Marcel
A while back I contacted KDD and asked them if I could visit their factory so I could post about how my favorite ice creams were made. After a few emails back and forth I finally got to pass by earlier this week for a private tour. I was given some basic rules with regards to photography. I wasn’t allowed to shoot video or take wide shots of the factory floor and all the shots I did take would have to be approved by them. I thought these were fair requests and as long as I could still tell the story of how the ice creams were made I didn’t mind them.
The KDD factory is located in Subhan and is really huge. Before going on the tour I was required to wear a lab coat, a hair net, wash my hands and remove any jewelry. We then had a long walk to the ice cream making section of the factory and when we finally got there it turned out it was my lucky day. The first ice cream machine was busy making my favorite ice cream ever, KDD Silver. Because the post is long and full of pictures you have to click on the link below to check it all. Also if you want to go on a tour yourself there is contact info at the end of the post.
An interesting feature from 1992 on the propaganda that helped gain American public support for the Gulf War. It’s around 30 minutes long but worth watching. [YouTube]
The locally created The 99 comics has been banned in Saudi Arabia for religious reasons and the creator Dr Naif Al Mutawa is also being sued locally.
However, Al Mutawa, the CEO of Teshkeel Media Group has vehemently defended his work, saying that it had won universal praise, including from the Emir of Kuwait and President Barack Obama.
“Those who are attacking men are claiming that I am using the 99 Holy Names of God for my characters,” he said. “However, I never thought they would go as far as accusing me of blasphemy and atheism. I am surprised that this is happening in Kuwait, a country of law that respects the Constitution and freedoms,” he said.
Al Mutawa said that his work was under an Islamic company and funded by an Islamic bank.“We have succeeded in presenting a positive image about the Islamic culture at international events. We had a role in dissipating the negative images of terrorism and killing that people had of Arabs. The series is being shown in 70 countries across the world,” he said. [Article]
The 99 is a comic book featuring a team of superheroes based on Islamic culture and religion that became a worldwide sensation. Dr Naif was featured on the front page of CNN previously as well as being mentioned by Barrak Obama in one of his speeches.
Al-Babtain are currently the car dealers for Infiniti, Nissan and Renault among others and I managed to get my hands on some old photos of the dealership. There are three photos, one if their first showroom in Kuwait, the other photo is of their first spare parts shop and the final one is of the interior of their showroom in 1980.
If you have any old photos of Kuwait [Let me know]
Thanks Abdulrahman
