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For 2022, I decided to put together a Ramadan Desserts list with the aim to highlight the interesting desserts for the season. There are a lot of delicious-looking ones this year which is why I also included all the photos. In addition to listing them here on the blog, I also compiled them into a PDF which you can download [Here]

Check out the full list below.

In May 1960, an international competition was held for the architectural project for the Kuwait National Museum which would be located in the cultural district of the 1952 Master Plan of Kuwait. The competition was won by French architect Michel Écochard and the museum was finally opened in 1983 where it stayed open up until the 1990 invasion. The museum was badly damaged during the war and most of the buildings remained closed (some photos of the destruction here). There were talks at one point of demolishing the museum and building a new one but thankfully in 2014, it was decided to save the existing museum by restoring it.

The restoration project is now complete and the museum is currently in the process of getting ready to reopen. I got invited to a sneak peek of the museum, something that I’ve been wanting for years. I was lucky enough to visit the museum back in the 80s, and although I don’t remember much of it, I do appreciate the fact that they decided to restore the landmark building instead of demolishing it as is the case most of the time.

The Kuwait National Museum is part of the Qibla Cultural District (Google Maps) which includes the Sadu House, the National Library, and Al-Qibla School for Girls Education. The main museum complex comprises of four buildings each housing a different part of Kuwait’s history:

Building 1 – Archeology of Kuwait
Building 2 – Ethnographic History of Kuwait
Building 3 – Ancient East
Building 4 – Ancient East

Buildings 1 and 2 are already open while buildings 3 and 4 are the ones heavily damaged during the war and the ones I got to tour. Buildings 3 and 4 are the largest buildings and will cover art in the Ancient East starting in the 3rd millennium BC going through Arabia before Islam, then the beginning of Islam, followed by the full chronology of Islamic Art.

All four buildings are connected by closed bridges. This means once you enter a building you can navigate the whole museum without stepping outside making it very convenient during the hot summer months.

Minor changes were made to the structure of the buildings, large semi-opaque windows were installed to bring in more daylight, and some minor new stairs and walkways were added due to updated fire safety requirements. All the work looked very tasteful and well-executed although I do wish they had kept the original pink brick facade.

There is also a planetarium outside the museum which you’ve most likely seen driving by on the Gulf Road since it’s the building closest to the road and its round spherical shape is hard to miss.

The planetarium is also in the final stages of renovation and will be reopening soon.

As I mentioned early on in the post, buildings3 and 4 of the museum are currently in the process of getting ready to reopen. They’re expecting that would happen in two years’ time, around 2024. In the meantime, buildings 1 and 2 are open and you can visit those now, here is my previous post about them. Link

Due to the pandemic, I haven’t put this list together since 2019. But, buffets are back now and so is this list.

A couple of observations, obviously a lot of restaurants closed down which is sad. But, I also noticed that most of the small places either reduced or kept their prices the same, while the more premium offerings increased their prices considerably. For those applicable, I highlighted the price increases over the 2019 price in red, and the decreases in green. The most expensive buffet award this year goes to St Regis Hotel at KD25. The most affordable offering goes to IKEA for their set menu at KD2.950, or to Inn & GO Hotel for their KD6 buffet.

Here is the full list divided into two parts, hotels and restaurants:

Hotels

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 24590000

Courtyard by Marriott – Atrium
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 1848111

Four Seasons – Jawaher Tent
Buffet Price: KD24 (+3.000)
Telephone: 22006000

Hilton Garden Inn – Avenues
Buffet Price: KD20
Telephone: 22262000

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD19 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22256222

Inn & GO Hotel – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD6 (-4.500)
Telephone: 22436686

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Badria Tent
Buffet Price: KD24 (+4.000)
Telephone: 22269600

Millennium Hotel & Convention – Lamar International Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12.5 (+0.500)
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22253100

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 25673000

Safir Hotel – Fintas
Buffet Price: KD14.9 (+3.000)
Telephone: 25455555

St Regis Hotel – Coral Tent (Previously Sheraton Hotel)
Buffet Price: KD25 (+5.000)
Telephone: 22422055

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 25770000

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD22 (+3.000)
Telephone: 25766666

Restaurants

Ahwet Zeitouna
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 22214999

Al Noukhaza
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 24732100

Almayass
Set Menu Price: KD13.5
Telephone: 25761001

Assaha
Buffet Price: KD12 (+2.500)
Telephone: 22533377

Babel
Set Menu Price: KD14.5
Telephone: 22081111

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 22275555

Enab
Set Menu Price: Starts from KD5
Telephone: 22063000

IKEA
Set Menu Price: KD2.950 (+0.700)
Telephone: 1840408

Jihan Khanah
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1819991

Joori Min Beirut
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 22062068

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD13 (+1.000)
Telephone: 24965500

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD10.950 (+0.450)
Telephone: 22268666

Paul
Set Menu Price: KD8.5 (+0.550)
Telephone: 22208204

Saraya Palace
Buffet Price: KD7 (-2.000)
Telephone: 25711101

Vapiano
Set Menu Price: KD6.950 (+0.950)
Telephone: 22597171

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD12 (+2.50)
Telephone: 22650052

If you think I missed a place, let me know in the comments below.

This is the last weekend before Ramadan begins and it’s kinda slow but still a few things going on. Below is this weekend’s list of events, if I missed anything let me know:

Thursday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: “Creatures Floating in Absurdity” by Mohamad Omran
Exhibition: Graduation Ceremony by Aseel AlYaqoub
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
Treasure Hunt at ASCC
SADI 2022 – Reviving our Roots
Q8 Comedy Club Stand Up (Arabic)
Kuwait Motor Show
Comic Festival Convention
Kuwait Motor Town Open Track Day
Sunset Paddling

Friday
Albohayra Farm
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
SADI 2022 – Reviving our Roots
Kuwait Motor Show
Comic Festival Convention

Saturday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Grand Mosque Tour
Albohayra Farm
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
SADI 2022 – Reviving our Roots

Below is this weekend’s list of events. If I missed anything let me know!

Thursday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: “Creatures Floating in Absurdity” by Mohamad Omran
Show: Arms & The Man
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
Matcha Matcha
Treasure Hunt at ASCC
Kids Workshop: World of Bugs
Alzay Fashion Design Exhibition
Kuwait Motor Show
IAME Karting Series – The Final Rounds

Friday
Albohayra Farm
DAI Story Time x Ahmadi Music Group Present Peter & the Wolf
Show: Arms & The Man
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
Matcha Matcha
Kuwait Motor Show
IAME Karting Series – The Final Rounds

Saturday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Grand Mosque Tour
Albohayra Farm
Be The Change. Sustainable Lifestyle Exhibit
Ramadan Food & Household Exhibition
Matcha Matcha
Miseen Scene: Ran
Bagels for Brunch
Spanish Night
Cycling at KMT
Kuwait Motor Show
IAME Karting Series – The Final Rounds

Washington Post published a not-so-nice article today about Kuwait that has been making its way around the web. The article, in summary, talks about how Kuwait is a significant polluter, has poor plans in eliminating emissions, and how nobody really cares, yada yada yada. One thing that did catch my attention though was in this paragraph:

An hour drive outside the dingy suburbs of Jahra, wind turbines and solar panels rise from clouds of sand — the fruit of Kuwait’s energy transition ambitions. source

What turbines?? I was pretty surprised I hadn’t heard of it before or seen any pictures. A quick search on Google Maps for “Shagaya Energy Park“, the name of the project, quickly pops up with imagery showing the turbines as well as the solar panels.

It’s on highway 70 which I’ve taken multiple times but I’ve only ever been as far as the Salmi scrapyard. The energy park is a short distance after which is why I never came across it. It might be worth checking out since it seems you can just drive up to the turbines if you go off-road. Here is the location on Google Maps

اليوم وفي رالي الكويت حصل حادث لأبني @Azizsaadon ولله الحمد لم يصب بأذى لكن خسر المركز الثاني بسبب دخول احد المتفرحين الذين تفاداه عبدالعزيز مما ادى الى حصول الحادث
اقول الحمدالله على سلامته والله يوفقه في الجايات pic.twitter.com/eFVHZaMbMB

— سعدون الكواري (@saadon_alkuwari) March 19, 2022

Qatari rally driver Abdulaziz Saadon Alkuwari got into an accident yesterday during the FIA Middle East Rally Championship when a quad bike got across the race track. Abdulaziz narrowly missed hitting the quad bike but then lost control of the car and hit a rock causing the car to flip and crash.

You can watch footage of the crash in the tweet on top but he also has more photos and clips in his instagram story @alkuwari_rally. Luckily both he and his co-pilot escaped unharmed.

Thanks Mohamed

This is the busiest weekend of the season so far. Lots of events taking place from markets to concerts to pop-ups. Check the list out below and as usual if I missed anything let me know.

Thursday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
Exhibition: “Creatures Floating in Absurdity” by Mohamad Omran
Exhibition: Graduation Ceremony by Aseel AlYaqoub
Treasure Hunt at ASCC
Palastinian Culture Exhibition
Let’s Roll! Pop-Up by THRF
Kuwait Street Food Festival
AMG Concert: Vivaldi Night
Matcha Makes the World Go Round
FIA Middle East Rally Championship

Friday
Albohayra Farm
Return of the Improvengers!
Ali Alghanim & Sons – Padel Tournament
Gulf Bank Off Road Challenge
Kuwait Kites Team
Bazar Francophonie
Palastinian Culture Exhibition
Let’s Roll! Pop-Up by THRF
Kuwait Street Food Festival
AMG Concert: Vivaldi Night
FIA Middle East Rally Championship
Super Run at KMT

Saturday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
Grand Mosque Tour
Albohayra Farm
Private Tour with Amira Behbehani
Let’s Roll! Pop-Up by THRF
Kuwait Street Food Festival
Basta Mother – Child Volunteering Event
FIA Middle East Rally Championship
Curated Cars and Coffee
Trash Hero Desert Cleanup

Another slow weekend of events so in case you can’t find anything below to do, you could always visit one of the museums.

Thursday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
KASA Expo 2022
Life Drawing Workshop

Friday
Albohayra Farm
KASA Expo 2022
Kuwait Textile Arts Association Spring Bazaar

Saturday
Exhibition: Seeking Refuge by Amira Behbehani
Exhibition: Backpacking Through Yemen in Times of Peace
Albohayra Farm
Women’s Sports Day
Miseen Scene: The Circle
KASA Expo 2022
Sons of Sinbad Excursion

If I missed anything let me know.

Over the holidays I went to Istanbul for vacation, my first time there since a university trip 22 years ago so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. There were two things I kept hearing about Istanbul or Turkey in general which is the food isn’t great, and people aren’t very friendly. Well, no idea what people are talking about because the food was great and I found everyone incredibly friendly (except for people in cars who seem to just want to run over everyone).

The trip was semi-spontaneous, originally the plan was to go to London but by the time I decided to book my ticket the prices had shot up a lot and it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I looked at other destinations that I could fly direct to and decided to head to Istanbul. I did some quick research on hotels and right away booked at Soho House, there really was no doubt about the choice and after staying there I’m glad I did because everything about the hotel was great. I booked their “small” room which really didn’t turn out to be that small and was really nice looking. The staff were great and the hotel turned out to be located in a great spot and less than a 5-minute walk to a subway station. Because I was staying at the hotel I also got access to the members-only Soho House Club next door. The club has two bars, one on the ground floor and one on the top floor as well as a restaurant and tons of cozy seating areas. It’s a very nice space where I ended up every night just chilling on my phone while having a drink.

Traveling around Istanbul was hit and miss. If I could take the metro to wherever I’m going then it was a hit. If I needed to take a cab then it was a miss. Uber is terrible in Istanbul and mostly because drivers kept canceling trips or messaging me after I booked asking me where I wanted to go. If the trip wasn’t in the direction they were heading they didn’t want to take it. That was the case the whole trip, drivers didn’t want to take any trip that would get them stuck in traffic or take a trip that wasn’t in the direction they were going. Their subway system on the other hand was great, very fast, very efficient, and pretty new. It’s what I used to get to most places and it’s how I avoided the terrible Istanbul traffic. The only issue I found was that their ticket machines didn’t accept credit cards so I always had to keep cash on hand which I hated.

The city itself is really beautiful, I was worried that a week would be too long of a time to spend in Istanbul and eventually I’d get bored, but it was actually the opposite. There was so much to do and see I didn’t even get through my full list of things to do, nor did I get the chance to hit up most of the museums on my list or even restaurants. I tried as much as possible to stay off the beaten path and it was fairly easy to do with so many nice areas and lots of great shops. If you want a fancy area they have it, if you want a ghetto area they have it, if you want a hipster area they have it, there is so much variety it kept me entertained till the very end to the point I’m now thinking of going back just to finish going through my list. One thing to note is that Istanbul is fairly hilly and you’re never really walking on a flat path, you’re always either walking downhill or climbing some super steep hill. It was exhausting exploring the city on foot, but because the weather was cold, it was very manageable. In the summer I’m not really sure it’s something you’d want to do unless you don’t mind sweating a lot. When it came to food I tried as much as possible to stick to Turkish food and that worked out really well. Lots of kebab, lots of tea, and lots of desserts.

I think my favorite part of the trip though was how affordable the whole experience was. It took me a couple of days to adjust to the price because I kept thinking I was miscalculating because everything was coming out really cheap. Most of the places I ate at the bill was around 10KD for two. My favorite breakfast spot was around 6KD for two and that was with a lot of food. Even the hotel which is one of the best cost me around 80KD a night. It won’t cost you a lot to have a great time in Istanbul.

Even their airport was one of the nicest I’ve been to. Their main airport opened up just a few years ago and so is really new and it shows. It also had lots of restaurants, a huge duty-free area so you can easily kill a couple of hours before your flight.

Anyway, I’ve temporarily set up a highlight for my Istanbul trip on my Instagram (@mark248am) if you want to check it out. But, I’m also sharing my shops and food list on Google Maps in case you want to use it on your trip.

Exploring Istanbul
Eating in Istanbul

A chill weekend with not a lot going on but here are some things you can do this weekend:

Thursday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Exhibition: Forbidden Love in Arab Art
BBT Picnic
Murouj SCENE Market
Workshop: How to overcome your fear from horses

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
BBT Picnic
Albohayra Farm
Murouj SCENE Market

Saturday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
BBT Picnic
Albohayra Farm
Murouj SCENE Market

Let me know if I missed anything.

I’ve had these photos in my archive for a couple of years now, I forgot where I got them from but I guess it’s about time to share them. Some of the photos are really great but I’m not 100% positive about the date of the photos.

They’re a mixture of photos ranging from 1975 to 1977. I think 1977 because in one of the photos you can see the Kuwait Towers in the background and it looks like construction on it was completed, but that only happened in 1977. But in other photos, you can see the dates 1975 and 1976 so it’s a mix.

No matter the dates the photos are really great and with all the silly drama with yoga taking place now, vintage photos like these are now more important than ever to share. You can view and download them all in hi-res by clicking here.

In addition to the photos, there is also a video taken from the AP archive showing the 1975 parade. Usually, I’d say bring back the parades but even if we did, I don’t think it would ever be the same. Kuwait was so different back then.

This weekend is incredibly busy with lots of things happening including two large events. Starting today till Saturday you have the Bugsha Market taking place at Green Island. Then on Friday and Saturday, you have the Made Food Festival taking place at Kuwait Motor Town. I’m coincidently taking part in the Car Open Track on Saturday at KMT so it should be interesting with the event happening there as well at the same time. If you have a bicycle you could go Saturday morning and ride your bike at the track and then when done, enjoy the festival or chill and watch the racing events at the track.

Anyway, below is the full list of events for this weekend, let me know if I missed anything:

Thursday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Exhibition: Forbidden Love in Arab Art
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
The Avenues Sky
Full Moon Chakra Yin Yoga & Art Therapy
Outdoor Garden Movie & Homemade Lasagna Workshop
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Plant a Tree at Boulevard Park

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
The Avenues Sky
Intersport Desert Clean-Up
Raptors in the Desert
Thrf at Made Food Fest
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Made Food Festival at KMT

Saturday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Grand Mosque Tour
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
The Avenues Sky
Brunchito with Chef Julian
360 Fun Run – Parking
Hilltop Geological Camp
Thrf at Made Food Fest
Bugsha Market at Green Island
Made Food Festival at KMT
KMT: Cycling Open Day
KMT: Open-Cockpit Car Open Track Day
KMT: Car Open Track Day
February Fun for Animals in Need

Quite a few things to do this weekend. Today is the last day of the GCC Camel Racing Tournament but there is also a market taking place at Murouj. Friday is a bit slow but if you’re at the chalet then you have The Hype by Drive In taking place at Bnaider 264. Saturday is the busiest day with a Poetry & Jam Night taking place as well a few other interesting events that day including Yoga Not in the Desert. Check out the full list below and if I missed anything, let me know:

Thursday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
BBT Picnic
GCC Camel Racing Tournament (Schedule)
Visit the Liberation Tower
Al Souq Exhibition at Murouj
The Avenues Sky
Take me to Paris
The Hype at Bnaider 264

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
The Avenues Sky
The Hype at Bnaider 264
Road Rush
Curated Cars & Coffee

Saturday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Grand Mosque Tour
BBT Picnic
Visit the Liberation Tower
Albohayra Farm
Sailing: Saturday Sunset Cruising
The Avenues Sky
Mubarakia Market Walk
CPES Hackathon at Shaheed Park
Sailors Knots Yacht Trip
Interactive Children Book Reading at Assima Mall
Anti Bullying Workshop with Horses
Poetry & Jam Night
Yoga Not in the Desert
Pomeranian Meetup

This Saturday is the start of the GCC Camel Racing Tournament so if you’ve ever wanted to visit the camel races, then this is the weekend to do so. Below are all the other events I managed to find for this weekend and as usual, if I’ve missed anything, let me know in the comments.

Thursday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
BBT Picnic
Al Ameed Coffee Padel Tournament 2022
The Avenues Under the Sky
V-Fit 2.0 at Shaheed Park

Friday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
BBT Picnic
Albohayra Farm
Born Primitive Rodent Trail Series: Day & Night
Trip: Into The Stars
The Avenues Under the Sky
Porsche Club Festival at KMT

Saturday
Exhibition: Art from the Islamic Civilization
Exhibition: Elements – Sculptures from CAPs Private Collection
Grand Mosque Tour
BBT Picnic
Albohayra Farm
Sailing: Saturday Sunset Cruising
The Avenues Under the Sky
GCC Camel Racing Tournament
Q8 Hotrod Club Meetup
Old Cars Meetup