2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003We found 5,035 results for your search.
Not sure if the website is new or not but @q8nitro has been posting about it recently so I just found out about it. It’s a much better site than Q8Car thats for sure, and the cars on it are more interesting. Only weird thing is that I don’t think they remove cars after they’ve sold. There are cars there listed back in 2019, not sure why they’re just leaving them since it makes the overall website less useful and misleading. Link
This weekend, Kuwait will be hosting the Nawi Wellness Summit 2025, a three-day event focused on health, fitness, and wellness. The event will run from January 9th to 11th and take place at The Arena in 360 Mall. It will be open daily from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM and is free to attend.
The summit won’t be a typical event; instead, it will feature engaging and immersive experiences, including:
Exhibition Hall: Explore top companies and brands showing their newest health and wellness products and services.
Interactive Workshops, Seminars, and Panels: Join activities for adults and families, including hands-on workshops, educational talks, and inspiring discussions.
Nawi Museum: Discover Kuwait’s sports history through a unique and immersive installation that takes you on a journey from Kuwait’s pearl diving days, to modern sports achievements.
Entry is free to the exhibition hall which has all the participating booths, retail area as well as food and drinks.
If you’d like access to the workshops, panel discussions, and NAWI Museum, then you need to purchase a VIP ticket. The VIP ticket costs KD25 and gives you 3-days access to the summit and allows you to register in any workshop or panel discussion. The workshops and panels will be held in English or Arabic, with translation provided in English for Arabic discussions and in Arabic for English discussions.
Nawi aims to inspire healthier living, bring people together, and highlight Kuwait’s role in wellness. If you want to register for the event or find out more, head over to yallanawi.com or check out @yalla.nawi
This week I finished Yellowstone. I was up to date before this last season started, but since my wife hadn’t watched Yellowstone before we binged watched all 5 seasons over a period of around 3 weeks. It’s such a great show with such a good last season and finale. If I had a Top 10 tv shows list it would be in it for sure.
Other than that I watched the movie Anora this week. What a great movie, so chaotic and funny, I loved it. The trailer doesn’t really do it any justice, nor does the movie description. Just watch it.
Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.
Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Arthur the King (7.0)
Boonie Bears: Time Twist (6.1)
Nosferatu (7.8)
The Man in the White Van (6.0)
Other Movies Showing:
Better Man (7.0)
Gladiator II (7.0)
Gunner (3.2)
Home Alone (classic) (7.7)
Kraven the Hunter (5.7)
Moana 2 (7.1)
Mufasa: The Lion King (6.7)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (7.5)
The Bridge Curse: Ritual (5.3)
Wicked (8.1)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
Yesterday I started receiving forwards to my @248am account from followers. They were sending me a video created by four content creators (@bukhaleefa,@oalthuwaini,@bo6aleb,@dr_m_alkandari) who had essentially taken my post about the story of Haydo, translated it to Arabic, and then used it as a script for their video on the same subject. It’s basically a word for word copy of my post with no mention of where they got their script from. They even used the exact same footage I had dug out for my post.
The four content creators combined have a total of over 4 million followers so I’m assuming they’re popular although I only recognize one of them. Based on their names I think two of them are doctors? I don’t know, but it’s just so weird that “content creators” seem to think it’s ok to copy someones work and not even credit them. It’s what I posted about recently, we live in a society where copying other peoples work is normalized. I remember watching a video a few months back where a “content creator” was responding to accusations that he was copying other peoples videos by saying its normal to copy and everyone does it. No it’s not normal.
The Haydo story isn’t mine to own obviously, it’s a historical event. But, the story they chose to share is mine. It’s my post, I did the research, I wrote and put the article together picking what I thought were the most important details to share. I edited the article so that it was fun and interesting to read, and then I spent two days looking for videos and photos that I thought were the best to go with it. So to have 4 established “content creators” to just translate my post and turn it into their script two days later because they ran out of their own creative ideas is frustrating.
Anyone that copies my content I usually report straight to Instagram. Sometimes I contact the person directly and ask them to remove the post, other times I just head straight to Instagram. Although Instagram are a bit slow, so far every time they’ve removed the infringing post and given a strike to the person that copied it. I think once they get two strikes they get some restrictions. I’ve already reported their post, but in this case I feel Instagram won’t be able to do anything since their post is in spoken Arabic while my post is written and in English. So it will be interesting to see how this turns out.
Actually, as I wrote the last sentence, I realized a much simpler way for instgram to realize they’ve copied my post. Without going into too much details for now, they essentially used something they could have only gotten from me. So I just submitted a second complaint to Instagram so that way in case the first one doesn’t work, the second one should.
I’ll post an update once I hear back from Instagram.
I originally posted about Haydo back in 2006. But, this is the story again with some details corrected. I no longer know what the original source of my information was, but there were some timeline inaccuracies and some exaggerated details. So this is as accurate as the story can be with the information I found.
Back in October 1981, Kuwait played a World Cup qualifying match in New Zealand. Just before kickoff, some Kiwi fans displayed an offensive banner reading “Stick to ya camels” as the Kuwaiti team came onto the field. Kuwait went on to win that match, 2–1.
A couple of months later, the two teams met again, this time in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Football Association adopted a camel named Haydo as its mascot, and just before the game started, they brought out a few camels to parade around the stadium—demonstrating Kuwait’s pride in its heritage. Kuwait drew the match and secured qualification for the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Kuwait was the first Arab country from Asia to qualify for the tournament. A Spanish newspaper later claimed the Kuwaiti national team would be late to the World Cup because they would be “traveling on the backs of their camels!” Contrary to that prediction, Kuwait arrived early—so early that neither journalists nor locals knew they were even in Spain.
In an effort to gain attention, the head of the Kuwaiti Football Association told a French journalist (who was there to cover the arrival of the French team) that “the Kuwaiti team would withdraw from the competition unless they could bring their mascot, Haydo.” Within hours, the hotel was packed with reporters keen to find out more about the camel mascot.
Eventually, the Spanish authorities and the hotel manager agreed, allowing the Kuwaiti team to bring their camel as long as it stayed in the hotel’s backyard. The head of the Kuwaiti Football Association then called the Moroccan Minister of Sport, requesting that a camel be sent to Spain as soon as possible. He also ordered a custom T-shirt for it.
All the buzz surrounding the camel drew a lot of attention from locals and journalists, making Kuwait’s presence truly felt. From that point on, Haydo became the official mascot of the Kuwaiti national team.
This week I watched half of Deadpool & Wolverine, and also half of Fly Me to the Moon. Still need to finish both just been pretty busy. Barely watched anything else. It turns out the second half of Yellowstone season 5 isn’t on Peacock or Paramount+ and instead I need to buy it from the AppleTV store (or any digital store basically). Haven’t started it yet.
New Superman trailer is out and it looks really good. Other than that I’ve added a bunch of movies to my watch list for this coming week:
Anora
Juror #2
Saturday Night
Small Things Like These
Let me know in the comments what you recently watched or planning to watch.
Movies at the Cinemas
The movies below are now showing at the local cinemas:
New This Week:
Better Man (7.0)
Get Away (5.9)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (7.5)
The Bridge Curse: Ritual (5.3)
Other Movies Showing:
Gladiator II (7.0)
Gunner (3.2)
Home Alone (classic) (7.7)
Kraven the Hunter (5.7)
Moana 2 (7.1)
Mufasa: The Lion King (6.7)
Survive (4.6)
The Painted (6.1)
Wicked (8.1)
The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.
Pantone recently announced its Color of the Year—Mocha Mousse, a warm brown hue. Personally, I’m over brown and beige, which is why I love the new Matchbox eatery.
Matchbox just opened a new location at Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC) and it’s visually everything I want a place to look like, just full of color and packed with details. You’ve probably noticed from my recent design highlights that I’m over minimal design and far more into places like this, which feel cozier and more visually interesting.
The new Matchbox was collaborative effort put together between the Matchbox team and Studio Nama. The design was executed by Creative International and the photos were taken by Mohammad Ashkanani.
I love it. For more photos, click here.
Frank’s, the go-to spot for authentic Philly Cheesesteaks, has just raised the bar with an exciting new menu item, the Frank’s Philly Burger. Known for their bold flavors and quality ingredients, they’ve managed to combine two all-time favorites into one irresistible creation. Imagine their iconic Cheesesteak, loaded with tender beef and melty cheese, now paired with a juicy Angus beef patty.
This game-changing combo delivers the best of both worlds in every bite. Whether you’re a Cheesesteak purist or a burger enthusiast, the Frank’s Philly Burger promises to satisfy your cravings and leave you coming back for more.
If you want to try it out, Frank’s is available on all major delivery platforms. Check them out @tryfranks
Below is a list of places I found that offer Christmas-themed lunches & dinners as well as cakes. If there is a place you know I haven’t listed, let me know so I can add it:
Courtyard by Marriott
Christmas Eve Dinner: 24KD (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: 20KD (Buffet)
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 17KD (Buffet)
Grand Majestic Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 7.9KD (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: 7.9KD (Buffet)
Holiday Inn Salmiya
Christmas Day Lunch: 16.9KD (Buffet)
Jumeirah Messilah Beach
Christmas Eve Dinner: 24KD (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: 24KD (Buffet)
Radisson Blu Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 19.5KD (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: 21KD (Buffet)
Ramada Encore Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 9.5KD (Set Menu)
Safir Fintas Kuwait Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 9.9KD (Buffet)
Symphony Style Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: 18KD (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: 20KD (Buffet)
Vigonovo
Christmas Eve Dinner: 15KD (Set Menu)
Christmas Day Lunch: 15KD (Set Menu)
Call ahead to book. Prices are per person and I’ve mentioned if it’s a buffet or set menu. Crowne Plaza offers two restaurants for Christmas Eve dinner, while Jumeirah has one restaurant for Christmas dinner and another for Christmas lunch.
Gourmet Grocers is a new premium grocery store that recently opened a boutique at the Nasco building in Shuwaikh. They offer a curated selection of high-quality gourmet products to cater to customers with particular tastes. It’s like walking into a boutique where every shelf and corner is packed with the finest gourmet selections; a foodie’s dream come true.
Their product range spans various categories, including cereals and grains, condiments, snacks, beverages, and lifestyle items. They are resellers for notable brands like Bjorg, Lune de Miel, Nicholas Alziari, but they also carry other premium brands like Seggiano, François Doucet, Meurisse, and more. This extensive selection ensures that customers have access to exclusive and premium items not commonly found in the local market.
They also just launched their festive selection comprising of Panettone, Panforte, in addition to a Festive Gift Box and other products.
Speaking of gifts, if you’re looking for something truly unique, their custom gift boxes are a hit if you’re going to a gathering or want to gift something thoughtful to a food lover. Customers can pick from ready-made boxes or create their own by choosing from the store’s premium products to make the gift more personal and special. The packaging is also elegant which adds a touch of luxury to every gift.
In addition to their physical boutique in Shuwaikh, Gourmet Grocers provides an online shopping platform with complimentary delivery across Kuwait. Customers can place orders through their website gourmet-grocers.com, with same-day delivery available for orders placed before 2pm.
If you want to pass by their store, here is their location on Google Maps. For the latest updates, product highlights, or to start shopping, visit their Instagram @gourmetgrocers or head to their website gourmet-grocers.com
Last week I found a copy of the second Wizr book on a website in Czech Republic for like 2KD and bought it. It’s my second copy, and although I didn’t have plans for it originally, someone gave me the idea of scanning and digitizing the books so I might end up sacrificing this extra copy by taking it apart and scanning the pages.
I first posted about the Wizr 10 years ago. Wizr was a series of stories written by Keith Wells, a British journalist who was living in Kuwait back in the 70s. Keith used to work for Arab Times, and between 1979 and 1984, released three Wizr books with the help of Peter McMahon, an illustrator. To me the stories feel like funny blog posts inspired by his experiences in Kuwait, from dealing with ministry paperwork, to poking fun at the driving here. I was communicating with Keith this past week, getting some more info for this post, and he’s still a pretty funny guy. He left Kuwait in 1987 and is now retired living with his wife Suzi in Australia.
Keith originally met Peter at a party. Peter hadn’t read any of the Wizr stories so when Keith told him who Wizr was, Peter picked up a sheet of paper, scribbled away for a minute or two, then held it out and asked Keith, “Him?” It was perfect. After that, both became close friends.
Keith would write a story, take it to Peter’s flat every Friday, and he’d illustrate the cartoon. The combination became very popular and after a couple of months in the Arab Times, they were approached by Tony Jashanmal, who owned a department store on Fahed Salem St, and Bashir Khatib, who owned the ‘The Kuwait Bookshops’ to publish a book full of the stories. The first book one was launched at the British Embassy Gardens in November 1979. They sold 428 copies that night, and Keith and Peter left home with a bag full of cash.
The two carried on working together for around a year, then Peter was murdered, a long sad story (which I’m hoping to get more information on soon). The second Wizr book was published with cartoons that weren’t used for the first, and the third book used odd scraps and recycled pics. The books are pretty hard to come by so I was curious to how many copies were printed. According to Keith, in total, they printed 10,000 copies of the first two books, and around 5,000 of the third. There were only around 4,000 or so native English speakers in Kuwait back then, but according to Keith most people bought multiple copies of the books and sent them to relatives and friends abroad.
Keith still has around 50 copies of the books left, as well as Peter’s original cartoons, and several of his oil paintings. He’s digging through his stuff to see what else he might still have. We’re both trying to figure out what to do with all of it, maybe ship everything to Kuwait and hold an exhibition. I suggested maybe putting him in touch with the British Embassy and maybe have them bring him over and have some sort of event again in the British Embassy Gardens, like a 45 year anniversary thing. If you have ideas, let me know!
The books aren’t easy to come by, but they do pop up online every now and then. I scanned a few pages and illustrations from the book and uploaded them to Flickr. I’ve included the unedited scans, as well as scans I’ve edited where I’ve combined the stories and illustrations to fit on one page. You can check them out here.
UR Cookies first opened back in 2020—just a small spot, nothing fancy, it was primarily a pick-up and delivery location. But, they had a solid, satisfying cookie that wasn’t too big, not too sweet, and always fresh. They had a straightforward approach which I appreciated.
Recently, they opened a second, much larger location at The Avenues. The new spot offers plenty of seating, a cool trendy interior, and it’s much easier to visit (for me) since I’m at The Avenues once a week, usually more. Despite the bigger space and the busier setting, they haven’t lost the simple vibe, it still feels like a cookie place, not a cookie factory.
With the opening of their new spot, they also launched a must-try item called ‘UR Scoop,’ which I’d been seeing all over my TikTok feed. It’s a warm, thick, and gooey cookie dough scooped into a cup and topped with creamy vanilla soft serve. When I saw it on TikTok, I knew I had to try it when I’d pass by to take pictures for this post. It’s as amazing as it sounds, and I’m already looking forward to having it again this Friday when I’m back at The Avenues. It’s definitely worth the hype.
UR Cookies is located in The Avenues Phase 4, in the food court below Vox Cinemas. Their viral item ‘UR Scoop’ is exclusively available at this location and not available for delivery. The new location also has cold and hot drinks including milkshakes and specialty coffee. Swipe left to see the pictures I took and then head over to their account @ur.cookies.kw
Back in 2017 I posted about how “Old Kuwait is Digitally Disappearing“. The article was mostly about how things are disappearing off the internet, it could be old articles, photos or videos related to Kuwait. Now I’ve realized we have another problem, people who were involved with Kuwait back in the 60s and 70s are starting to die.
There was a photographer I was in touch with last year called Tor Eigeland. He had visited Kuwait back in 1967 according to him although I think it was sometime in the 70s based off the photograph I had found of his of the Kuwait Towers under construction (the photo in this post). Yesterday I messaged him because I had some things I wanted to run by him and his wife replied to me letting me know he sadly passed away this past April at the age of 92.
There is a guy who reached out to me who was part of the team that brought the Marriott Hotel ship to Kuwait. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him for nearly a year now so I fear he’s passed away as well.
Yesterday I got in touch with Keith Wells, a British journalist who was living in Kuwait back in the 70s. I was worried he had passed away since the last time I spoke to him was 10 years ago, thankfully he turned out to be still alive.
But thats basically how things are at the moment, every time I email someone I used to be in touch with, I wonder if they’re still alive. I feel like there are still too many stories that need to be documented, and many will sadly never be told.
Since we are on the subject of Kuwait Airways, while browsing the New York Times archive I found an article from Feb. 11, 1974 which talks about the Kuwaiti parliament debating if Kuwait Airways should continue to serve alcohol on its flight:
Serving of Drinks on Airline at Issue in Kuwait
KUWAIT, Feb. 9—The National Assembly, Kuwait’s lively parliament, was in an uproar this week over whether Kuwait’s national airline should, continue to serve alcoholic drinks on its flights.
The Moslem religion prohibits consumption of intoxicating beverages, and this is a major issue between “liberal” and “fundamentalist” Arabs around the Persian Gulf.
It is an issue of some terest to Western oilmen and business representatives who are in the area in growing numbers, as well as for many Arabs who have studied or done business abroad, where they acquired a Western taste for a highball or cocktails.
Uproar in Assembly
One of these Arabs is Abdulaziz al‐Massaeed, the publisher of Dar Al Rai al‐Amm, one of Kuwaits leading morning newspapers.
Mr. Massaeed, an elected deputy in the 50‐member National Assembly, set off the uproar during a debate on the budget for the national airline when he replied to conservative members who said Kuwait’s “dry” law should apply to the state company’s international flights.
“I, as a free citizen, would refrain from traveling aboard any plane that does not sell liquor,” said Mr. Massaeed, who travels frequently to Europe on business and for holidays. He added:
“I take liquor. Ninety per cent of Kuwaitis drink and know many of the deputies drink also.”
This touched off a furor, With conservative members banging their desks and shouting for the floor.
Moslem Prohibition Brings Furor in Parliament and Blood‐Test Challenge
“I challenge the members to take a blood test to see who drinks and who doesn’t,” retorted Mr. Massaeed over the uproar.
$30 for Scotch
While Kuwait is officially dry, and no alcoholic drinks are served even in the big international hotels, there is a large black market in foreign liquors. For instance, a bottle of Scotch will be delivered to a guest’s room in one of the major hotels for $30.
In private homes, many Kuwaitis serve liquor to their Western guests, and hard drinking among Kuwaitis and other Arabs here who can afford it is not unusual.
But any public place, or even Private club, is subject to prohibition. When the Kuwait National Bank had a reception this week for visiting Western bankers at a hotel, it was for tea, not cocktails.
In other places along the gulf, the situation varies from the strict fundamentalism of Saudi Arabia, where travelers bringing liquor in their luggage can be arrested, to the relativey free‐wheeling habits of Bahrain or Dubai, where there are bars.
Drink or Pray
Supporting his argument for tolerance of drinkers aboard the Kuwait airline, Mr. Massaeed said that the ruler of Dubai, Shiek Rashid bin Said al‐Maktum, had told a protesting delegation of religious leaders that this was a matter for individual choice.
According to Mr. Massaeed, Sheik Rashid said: “Here there is a mosque and over there is a bar. Whoever wants to please himself can resort to either prayer or drink.” Sheik Rashid is noted for his business acumen, the newspaper official said.
In the end the budget of the Kuwait airline, which flies as far as London and New Delhi, as well as around the Middle East, was approved on the condition that Finance Minister Abdel‐Rahman Salem al‐Atigi make a “thorough study” of the effect that banning liquor sales might have on the willingness of non‐Moslem passengers to use the airline.
Last year, Kuwait Airways unveiled renderings of its revamped interior, and now, photos and videos have surfaced showcasing the final look.
Kuwait Airways took delivery of its brand-new Airbus A330-900 last week, the first of seven on order. The aircraft features new Business Class seats, and a new “Premium” Economy cabin which is a completely new addition to the Kuwait Airways product lineup. This new cabin class will be called “Comfort Plus” while the regular economy cabin will be called just “Comfort”.
Airline journalist @bo.waleed1 got a tour of the new plane once it arrived and was kind enough to let me share his images. The main image on top was also taken by Engineer @bin_ghareeb_83 who also got to see the new plane last week.
The A330-900 has 32 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 225 economy seats. Business Class has a 1-2-1 cabin configuration, premium economy a 2-3-2 configuration while the regular economy a 2-4-2 cabin configuration. All the business class seats are now private cabins with sliding doors, which is pretty cool and puts Kuwait Airways on par with the top business class offerings from other airlines. The cabins also feature amenities like USB-C ports, wireless charging, plenty of storage, and of course, seats that fold flat into a bed.
Kuwait Airways will be officially revealing the new interior soon, so follow them to stay updated @kuwaitairways. If you want to see more photos and videos of the interior, check out my post on Instagram @248am