Search: “salmiya”

Barakat is an old school store located in Salmiya that has been open since the early 80s. They sell supplies for knitting, crochet, embroidery, needlework, sewing, weaving, as well as hobby and crafting materials, and magazines relating to all these.

I thought they had closed down their old Salmiya location since they had opened a small shop in Al Bustan Mall, but turns out the original store is still alive and kicking.

I passed by with a friend the other night and it reminded me of when I was a kid and I would accompany my mum. When I was a kid I hated trips to Barakat since I used to get super bored, but now as an adult, I appreciate the place a lot more.

I was tempted to get something, so ended up leaving with a “My First Embroidery” kit of a cute cat. Since I’m always curious to try new things, I figured I could try embroidery for fun and this kit contained everything I needed to learn embroidery.

If you’ve never been to Barakat, you should pass by to check the place out especially if you’re looking for a new hobby to get into. They’re located on the first floor of a building near Beit Dickson Restaurant in Salmiya. Here is the building on [Google Maps]. They’re also on instagram @barakat_kuwait. If you do pass by, make sure you pick up some kunafa from Al Tibawi down the street before you leave the area.

Last night I spotted a recycling machine at Sultan Center Salmiya. It wasn’t working so I’m assuming they’re still setting it up but from what I managed to find out its a TOMRA Reverse Vending Machine.

One of the benefits of these machines is that it works with a loyalty program, so how I am assuming the way they will be used is when you recycle plastic bottles or cans, instead of getting money back you’ll get points added to your Sultan Card. If that’s the case then it might just get people to recycle.

Kuwait is on its way to become “a country with the strongest and fastest Internet in the Arab world” through the use of optic fiber cables, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting a source close to the Sate Ministry for Services. The source pointed out that majority of the advanced countries provide Internet with a speed of 50 gigabytes, whereas the ministry will provide 100 gigabytes starting from August. [Source]

And somehow I’m still stuck barely getting 10Mbps because I live in Salmiya.

A couple of weeks ago there was a very interesting discussion on Reddit called “What if I don’t want to fast?” about the laws that punish people for eating in public during Ramadan. Since Ramadan is nearly over, I wanted to ask my readers what their opinion about this is.

Personally, because I don’t cook, my biggest issue is with the law regarding restaurants having to be closed during the day. I actually don’t know if its a law, or just an unspoken rule, but whatever the case is, I don’t think restaurants should be forced to close, not unless you also want to close other sources of food like supermarkets and baqalas. I’ve basically spent most of this Ramadan having Chinese food since China Kitchen is one of the few places that deliver from noon and they’re located in Salmiya so the driver doesn’t get stuck in traffic. I actually don’t think I’m having Chinese food ever again once Ramadan is over.

Do you fast? Would you mind it if restaurants were open during the day? Do you mind if people drink water in front of you? I’m curious to know.

The popular American convenience store 7-Eleven opened up their first location in Kuwait a couple of days ago. Sadly, it’s not as cool as it sounds. The location basically looks like your average neighborhood mini market with just some stickers on top of the shelves saying 7-Eleven. When I passed by last night, they had the radio tuned into a prayer station and the whole place resembled your average cheap looking mini-mart. Not what I was expecting. They didn’t have their popular slurpee which is why I dropped by, nor any 7-Eleven branded products, so the place felt like a fake 7-Eleven.

But, I’ve been assured this is an official 7-Eleven and the slurpee machine is coming soon. I guess 7-Eleven just don’t have strict brand guidelines which is why the place looks like any random mini market. This first 7-Eleven location is open in Salmiya, and their operating hours are from 6AM to 1AM. For directions you can check out their instagram account @7elevenkw

As most of you are aware by now, part of the old souq in Salmiya is being turned into a pedestrian-only area. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in February but due to delays, work is still going on right now.

The photos in this post were taken a couple of days back and they show the current progress. For more photos, click [Here]

In a bid to maintain Kuwait’s beauty, the Kuwait municipality is now imposing a fine of up to KD300 if you’re found drying your clothes on your balcony. This law doesn’t affect me since I don’t hang my clothes on the balcony anyway, but from all the issues we have, this is the one the municipality wants to fix?

How about the overflowing garbage bins in Salmiya? I would think overflowing garbage bins have a bigger impact on visual pollution as well as hygiene when compared to people hanging laundry on their balcony. Like seriously… [Article 1] [Article 2]

Top photo via Arab Times

If you’re a guacamole fan I think I’ve found the best one in Kuwait. The guac at the new restaurant MANA I think is one of the best I’ve had anywhere and easily the best being served in Kuwait right now. The guacamole is made fresh at your table and even the accompanying chips are really delicious too. Everything else I had on the menu was pretty average so far, but I would keep going back just for the guac (and I did two days in a row).

MANA is located in Argan Square in Salmiya and you can check them out on instagram @explore.mana

This post is a throwback for those who’ve been reading the blog from the early days. Do you remember my posts on Shark of Kuwait? He was an interesting looking character that used to always park his vintage blue Buggati outside Starbucks opposite Fanar in Salmiya. Not sure what reminded me of him but I decided to check and see if he was on instagram and turns out he was! So if you want to see what he’s been up to for the past 10 years, check him out @sharkofkuwait

I should probably put together a series of posts called “Where are they now?” in which I get in touch with previously popular personalities I’ve featured on the blog and see what they have been up to. Like where is Big D??

Cinescape is putting together an Oscars film festival next week where you’ll be able to binge watch 10 award-winning films that include:

· The Shape of Water
· Coco
· I, Tonya
· Phantom Thread
· Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
· Loving Vincent
· The Insult
· Get Out
· Darkest Hour
· The Post

The film festival is taking place from March 11 to March 14th at Cinescape Laila Gallery in Salmiya. The ticket cost for this festival is KD10 (that will get you access to watch all the films). For more information and the film schedule, click [Here]

The openings of Avenues Phase 4, Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center and the new pedestrian-only street in old Salmiya have all been pushed back. Previously they were set to open during the National holidays but that’s no longer going to happen.

There were also rumors that the inauguration of Kuwait Motor Town was going to take place during the National holidays but those rumors are not true.

I personally don’t mind since they’re all still expected to open soon and I’d rather they open when they’re ready instead of being rushed.

This has to be the first for Kuwait because I haven’t seen one like it here yet. Down the street from my place in Salmiya, right towards the end of the 4th Ring Road, they’re constructing a pedestrian bridge that uses escalators instead of your usual stairs. The pedestrian bridge is also covered so I’m guessing it will probably have airconditioning as well.

I find this odd because the area is pretty ghetto so it’s weird we’re getting such a fancy pedestrian bridge. Now I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the Metro plans. I know in the metro map (pictured above) there is meant to be a station in this area and there is plenty of room around this bridge for one as you can see in the map below. Could this be connected to it?

Back in September, they announced that part of Salem Al Mubarak Street was going to be turned into pedestrian only. I took the video above this morning right outside my apartment building to show you the current status, and as you can see the project has progressed considerably since my last post on the street.

My biggest issue with the project was that they had killed 25 trees on that street that had been there for over 50 years. They’ve now planted new palm trees instead which although is a nice gesture, palm trees just don’t offer any shade and can’t house as many birds as the older trees did. I really wished they had managed to keep those older trees.

In any case, the street is starting to shape up and I think they’re trying to have everything done by February 25th which right now seems unattainable.

But, a new issue is starting to pop up and that is gentrification. Because the street is getting fixed up, the value of real estate around it is also going up. My rent was already slightly increased since my building is suddenly now in a prime location, people are also now bidding on the empty stores in my building which previously nobody wanted. I’d really really hate it if my apartment rent goes up to the point where I’ll be priced out and be forced to move.

On the bright side, they haven’t sorted the parking issue in the area. Parking in my neighborhood has always been historically terrible and now they’ve gone and removed all the parking spots on the main street without adding any new ones. With this street facelift, we’re now going to have even a higher influx of people come into the area than before, so the parking situation will be even worse which is kinda great for me. Hopefully this parking mess is going to help keep the popularity of the area down to a reasonable level, which in return should keep my rent at a reasonable level.

The picture above was emailed to me a few days ago by a reader who grew up in Kuwait in the 1950s. It was taken at the Anglo-American School in Ahmadi in the early 1950s. The headmistress was called Miss Ussher while he’s the little kid in the bottom right in the white shirt and shorts (Norman Young). Next to him are his classmates Ian Hickman, David Tristram and Marcia Brown.

Anyway, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted an old video of Kuwait, but they’re pretty hard to come by. I’ve decided to share two videos below, one is of Kuwait in 1977 while the other is of Kuwait in 1997. Is 1997 considered old? I’m not sure anymore. Below are the videos and their timelines in case you want to skip through them:

Kuwait – 1977
0:09 Old port
0:47 Al Sabah Hospital
1:12 Gold market (looks like Souk Mubarakiya)
1:50 Fahad Al Salem Street
2:20 Sheraton Hotel
2:25 Kuwait Towers under construction
2:33 Villas under construction
2:52 Arriving at persons home
3:50 Gas station
3:55 Car dealership
4:39 Gas station

Kuwait – 1997
0:00 Seaside – Bnied Al-Gar
1:27 Cityscape
2:45 Green Island and the sea
5:21 Old Salmiya
6:07 Al Salam Building
6:32 Old Salmiya
7:47 Hungry Bunny
8:32 Entertainment City