Sometime back I posted about restaurant courts being the new trend in Kuwait, well in addition to the ones that I mentioned there’s another one so-called Miral I spotted today nearby Hilton Mangaf resort, its owned by Al Nawadi Holding I think. In that street alone we will have ten or more food courts, guess it will beat the restaurants street in Salmiyah.
Is it just me or is Kuwait weather (or should I say climate) has been changing in the last few years? We are getting extremely hot temperatures that exceed 54+ degrees Celsius during the summer, negative temperatures during the winter, we are also getting more dusty days through out the year even during the winter and spring seasons, add to this the scarce rain fall, and sometimes we experience dust/humidity/rain combo at the same time (like yesterday and today).
Also we sometimes get some rain during summer, then we have those scary heavy dust storms that hit us every now and then let alone the dust every weekend. I know we are currently experiencing what we call in Kuwait (Pre-Sarayat and Sarayat) but changing climate is also another possibility since its a global phenomenon, maybe pollution has an effect too.
I’m so happy that Kuwait has scored many world records in 2012, the latest was yesterday by lighting 40,000 candles in shape of the word AUTISM (both in English and Arabic) at Kuwait sport club in Kaifan area.
The guy from Guinness organization was impressed by the many world records achieved in Kuwait in 2012. I’d like to thank Kuwait Center for Autism for organizing this nice event for the achievement. Congrats!
Some of you may have already heard about the National Youth Project that was launched recently in Kuwait but many didn’t have any idea what actually it is including myself. What I did is contact the organizers and asked them about the project; its idea and purpose, they kindly explained that this project was launched based on direct directions from H.H Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah -Emir of Kuwait to fully support the youth and their ambitions.
They formed a committee that will gather all the suggestions and ideas given by young people in Kuwait to implement them; for example if guys want the government to allow for car tent then they will raise it to the Ministry of Interior to take action.
I’m loving the idea, to submit any suggestions or ideas you can do it through their website here
A friend told me that famous street 3D illusion painters Julian Beever and Planet Street Painting group have made stunning floor 3D graffiti’s at the Avenues and Marina Mall. Beever is currently working on a 3D floor graffiti at the Avenues close by Starbucks cafe, I think VIVA brought him.
If there’s one thing about Kuwait, then its the unique designs we see for houses. Architecturally unique houses designs have always fascinated me, actually I dream that one day I’ll have my own unique house, so let’s see what are the most exotic mansions in Kuwait.
The first house that popped on my mind is the one located at Abu Al Hassniya and has many statues and somehow resembles a medieval church in Europe (See above), quiet exotic.
This one’s located at Messilah by the sea, I could see it when I’m driving on Fahaheel express way, everytime I see it I imagine the world of Sindbad especially with those big domes, nice.
I’m sure most of you have seen this one already, located on Damascus street, it was designed to look like a palace, eye-catchy especially at night (Mashallah).
This one is located in Qadisiya area and known as the House of Mirrors, many tourists come to see it and there’s a really lovely story behind it. Inside you’ll see that everything was designed with mirrors.
I was searching over the 5-star hotels in Kuwait and found out that we only have 10, honestly I thought we had more. It turned out there are several hotels that are about to open and I think this is because the government had announced about a plan to turn Kuwait into a financial center couple years back.
Jumeirah Messilah: I’m waiting for this one which covers 55,000 Sq. meter area and expected to open on September 2012 because I heard many great stuff about it including a private beach, 80 suites, 12 villas, 6 restaurants, two ballrooms, Spa and more. Its located at Messilah area just beside Messilah beach.
InterContinental: I see it every time I’m driving on Gulf road nearby Sultan Center, I’m loving the location and the architectural design especially the entrance but there will be no private beach. I suspect the room window view will be amazing, I was told that it will open probably next September or October 2012.
Salmiyah Hotel: This is isn’t exactly a 5-star hotel but the company promised to deliver 5-stars experience, located on Fahaheel express way at Salmiyah and from what I saw that its in the final stages of construction, the cost is 35 Million KD. Some of the facilities include 300 rooms and royal suites, 3 ballrooms, restaurants..etc.
Radisson Blu Hotel: This one is not new but its currently under a total renovation and will soon have a face-lift on the outside and inside as well, I’ve seen some of the after photos and it looks amazing though I’m not yet sure when it will be re-opened?
Hotel Missoni: This one is a relatively new (opened March 2011) but until now its my favorite hotel in Kuwait, I just love how it was designed and furnished. See my previous post about it here
So did I miss anything? Though I hope with the opening of these new hotels the room rates will decrease.
Since my early years I always read and heard many stories about the Red Palace but never had the chance to actually visit it, all I knew was that it has red walls and that its located at Jahra, literally! So be ready for a historical adventure that will take you back in time to see what really it is, buckle up.
It took me sometime to locate it at south of Jahra and when I finally arrived I saw absolutely no one, I even thought that it was abandoned but thankfully the guard suddenly appeared of nowhere and this is when my amusing tour begun. Once the gate was opened, I saw a big courtyard with some scattered trees, a camel, and a well in the center, I noticed that they did a good job maintaining the palace.
Stories say that it was built by Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah back in 1897 and was called red because it has red walls (Red mud used to build it), it became popular after the famous battle of Jahra in 1920 where it was used as a fort to defend the surrounding areas. Its total area is around 6,500 Sq. meter and there are 33 rooms or chambers and three wooden gates with holes for shooting, there were towers too.
Currently, the red palace is used as a historical museum, the first room had a title “Hunting” and inside I saw the tools and techniques old Kuwaitis used for hunting animals.
Hunting tools below.
Hunting technique:
Weapons room: In this room they display the weapons old Kuwaitis used in battles, there were rifles, daggers, canon, and swords.
An old fighter.
A Canon.
Al Sadu (weaving) room: The term “Sadu” is an old Kuwaiti word for “Weaving Process” which was an old craft in Kuwait, in here you can see what tools and materials they used in the past to make clothes and fabric.
Do lightning and thunder scare you? Last night outside my window I was enjoying the intense non-stop lightning that continued for more than half an hour, this is an annual thing in Kuwait which is called “Pre-Sarayat” where heavy rain falls accompanied with thunder and lightning.
Expect more lightning storms in the upcoming days, my advice is that people shouldn’t stand nearby electrical transmission lines or on the roof of the high rise buildings or use cell phones in the open when they see intense lightning. Luckily a friend of mine managed to shoot a video for the lightning.
I was driving on Gulf Road this evening and I spotted Kuwait Towers with lights turned off for Earth Hour 2012, I also saw that lights were turned off for Al Hamra tower, Tijaria, Liberation tower, Al Raya I&II, and United tower from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. I tried to explain to my family the idea behind Earth Hour and thankfully found acceptance
Its definitely a nice initiative but I wish there will be more awareness and participations next year insha’allah.
A week ago we posted about new shopping mallspopping up everywhere in Kuwait, guess what? Today I was at Egaila area and I spotted a new shopping mall called Al Liwan. I’m surprised on how Kuwaitis spent 27 Million dollars for shopping in Dubai despite the infinitely many shopping malls here, as of now I’m calling Kuwait “The Malls City”.
I took quick tour inside and saw X-Cite, max, Baroue, GÉANT market, Nestle Toll House cafe, Crocs, Abdul Samad Al Qurashi, McDonald’s, Hassan optician among many other stores that are distributed on 4 levels, it could serve those who live in surrounding areas such as Fintas, Fahaheel, Egaila, and Abu Hulaifa.
Sometime back I posted about restaurant courts being the new trend in Kuwait, well in addition to the ones that I mentioned there’s another one so-called Miral I spotted today nearby Hilton Mangaf resort, its owned by Al Nawadi Holding I think. In that street alone we will have ten or more food courts, guess it will beat the restaurants street in Salmiyah.
Al Sadu (weaving) room: 
