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I was having an early breakfast today at Al Seef strip, it feels great being on vacation and enjoying morning time, and when I left I saw that Kuwait National Museum was nearby, it’s been ages since I’ve been there so I decided to take a quick tour around it to see what’s new. Inside I saw they just displayed rare gallery of Kuwait Constituent Assembly, this was the first ever parliament in Kuwait dated back to 1961. The gallery was organized to celebrate the golden jubilee of Kuwait Constitution and includes seldom photos of the events and circumstances of the establishment of the Constituent Assembly 1961, I liked how photos were processed and displayed using pop art which I think gives them more aesthetic and contemporary feeling.

There were photos for the first parliament elections and convened sessions, reading the background history of each photo was informative. Though the sad part of the my tour is that I observed our National Museum needs total renovation, buildings and facilities must be renewed to attract natives and expatriates since it represents one of the major attractions in Kuwait. The National Museum is open daily from 8:30 am to 12:30 om and from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm except weekends.

 [Gallery not found]

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Myself and Tazmania had a quick tour at the upcoming touristic project at Al Bida’a so called Arabella today to check on the developments, we were also able to talk to the project supervisor who gave me a short brief on the latest progress. The 8,000+ Sq. meter project takes the style of a European architecture with many retail store, restaurants, cafe’s, Spa & Beauty, and Sports bar.

They say over 500 contracts for shops and restaurants have already been signed, now this is what I call fast selling business. I also came to know that The Cheesecake Factory in addition to other franchises from Alshaya and Americana Group will open there in the first quarter of 2013. Other restaurants and stores opening there include;

Altissimo

Long Horn Steak House

Olive Garden

Red Lobster

Pizzeria Margherita

MBCO

Semsom

Starbucks

Deer&Dear

Hello Kitty

The works are almost completed with some finishing works that will soon complete, the stores and restaurants will be distributed on three levels and there will be two level basement parking. I think they will open on the first quarter of 2013.

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A friend of mine shared photos for luxurious European cruise “Silver Wind” docked on Shuwaikh port, the ship came all the way from Italy and carries over 600 tourists from Europe and America who will be taken on a tour to see Kuwait attractions, cool. I always wonder why we don’t yet have a touristic port and cruise in Kuwait? This can be a great attraction for Kuwait, tourists can reach Kuwait through the sea, also we can go to Dubai and other cities by the sea and not just air.

Thanks [@fikwt]

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I saw tons of tweets and messages from friends expressing how today’s weather is wonderful and I was at work all day so instead of going straight back home after work I decided to go for a hike at Al Shaheed Park in Sharq area, I love this park and in this London-like weather it’s an amazing place to be. I spotted a big nice golden monument but wasn’t sure what it is for, so after asking the guards they said this monument was recently built to celebrate golden Jubilee for Kuwait Constitution and that H.H the Emir of Kuwait was there yesterday.

There was a display board on the side, I think it’s a screen. I wish if they included a gallery though.

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I took a stroll in the afternoon at the awaited Grand Avenue District in Avenues Phase III, it was interesting seeing all those new shops, stores, restaurants and cafe’s open all at once. Many of my friends thought this is Avenues Phase III, but actually there are 4 other districts coming up (Prestige, The Souk, Soku, and The Mall).

I observed that Phase III is quiet different with regards to architectural design (contractor Mabanee did a pretty good job) where the 5 districts are interconnected through the Grand Avenue District (see figure below).

The Grand Avenue looked like a tree-lined boulevard similar to Shanzelize in Paris, the architecture was a mix of three styles; European, Regional, and Contemporary under a curved roof, nice. I also liked how the A/C was totally hidden and how the roof was transparent allowing sun light to penetrate. My concern is that the new parking lot is not yet completed, so finding a parking space can be a major headache during peak hours, also I wish if there are more entrances to The Avenues since the entrance by the 5th Ring Road and the backside entrances from the two-lanes road are congested all the time.

So now I’ll focus on the part you are all waiting for, the shopping experience isn’t it? Well these are the first-time stores in Kuwait that were opened so far;

The Cheesecak Factory

Texas Roadhouse

Garrett Popcorn

COS

Harvey Nichols

Jack Wills

West Elm

Williams-Sonoma

Sarar

Pink

Teavana

Jo Malone London

New branches for existing stores; H&M, Shake Shack, Starbucks, MAC, Juicy Couture, pinkberry, Bath & Body Works, Potbelly, Pizza Express, Vilebrequin.

As for the opening soon stores and restaurants, these are the ones that I saw;

Millions of Milkshakes

Red Lobster

Olive garden

Ben’s Cookies

Veranda

vision express

Muji

Lacoste

Tory Burch

Dior

Tanagra

Kevingstone

Uno Chicago Grill

Cafe Blanc

Kaizen

Shahrayar

Life With Cacao

[Gallery not found]

الافينيوز المرحلة الجديدة

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I went to AlHamra Luxury Center on Eid and I gotta say that I never saw it this much crowded before, maybe because of Grand Hamra Cinema was opened? Good news is that the stores keep opening one after the other, I’d say 70% of the mall is now open. I spotted new restaurants, cafe’s, shops have opened and others opening soon, so let’s see what we got;

Bice Ristorante: It’s about to open and if I’m not mistaken it’s an Italian concept restaurant with over 30 branches worldwide, and now they are expanding into the Middle East with branches opening in Kuwait, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. It’s located on level 3 ad they said the opening is on the 15th of November.

Cuts Steak Restaurant: It’s a new restaurant that will serve a variety of steaks opening soon on level 3 of the mall.

Al Hamra Thermae: I posted about this one before, they say it will be the most luxurious SPA/Gym in Kuwait and I wonder how much subscription will cost, opening is on December. Read more [link]

IL Caffe Di Roma: Small Italian cafe serving various hot and cold drinks located right beside Elevation Burger.

Samsung Store: Looks like Samsung is opening electronics store that will probably sell Samsung phones and electronics though I’m not sure if belongs to the same Samsung dealer in Kuwait City.

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I had an exclusive and exciting sneak peek tour in Grand Cinemas at Al Hamra Luxury Center, I know there are zillion questions in your head right now; how much the tickets? Will movies be released earlier? Censorship? How to book tickets? …etc. but hey I got you all the answers and beyond. As I told you in my previous post, it will launch on Eid Al Adha [link] and it will mark a new era for cinema in Kuwait. A quick summary; Grand Cinemas has over 100 theaters spread spread across 23 locations in the Middle East including Dubai, Beirut, Jordan, and now Kuwait.

Inside I met with their regional operation manager Mr. Rabi Hajj and got chance to ask him many questions, he was kind to take me on quick tour and explain the facilities and services. I have to say that I was pleased with what I saw, below is how our chit chat went on:

What is the total number of screens?

Grand Cinemas (AKA Grand Hamra) has 8 regular screens plus one Grand Class (VIP) screen which makes a total of 1,450 seats.

What are the seats type?

We provide comfortable seats from brand ‘Figueras’ and they are the most expensive in the business (above) for normal theaters, as for the VIP theater we have the luxurious leather ‘Lazyboy’ seats (below) that can be electrically adjusted and equipped with buzzer to allow customer to call the waited to order refreshments.

What will be the type of screens used? Is there IMAX 3D screen? and what is the sound system?

All of our screens are equipped with digital projectors from Barca, and we will also have a 4K projector which is the first in Kuwait. Our theaters are equipped with the latest sound technology for an exciting experience. In our original plans we planned to have IMAX 3D but due to the space restriction we were not able to have one.

What will be the ticket price?

For the normal screens it’s KD3.5 and KD10 for the VIP, the VIP customers will have a separate entrance and can wait in a luxury lounge (below) with TV till movie starts, also they will get free refreshments and food such as wine (non-alcoholic), caviar, and salmon.

How can people book the tickets?

We have installed E-Kiosks inside the cinema for booking, people can also book online on our website, and soon we will launch iPhone and Android apps.

What refreshments will you offer to customers?

We have concessions that provide tasty popcorn (both salty and caramel), nachos, hot dog, drinks, sodas, sweets. ..etc. and all of our foods will be from the U.S. There is also ‘Crostini’ cafe to serve salads and sandwiches.

What about movies release dates?

We will release the latest movies, plus there will be exclusive movies for Grand Hamra, James Bond Skyfall will be exclusive for us when it’s first released.

These were the questions that I asked, I gotta say that I was pleased with the beautiful decorations, large lobby, and nice rest rooms. Grand Hamra is set to open its doors in Eid Al Adha (26th October). Personally, I’m going to watch James Bond Skyfall when its first released.

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While being stuck in Hawally traffic jam last night (I hate Hawally at night) I spotted this old building that looked like a museum in Al Othman street nearby Al Othman Center, it was written Bait Al Othman Museum. I got curious to know what exactly it is and what’s inside it. As I arrived at the gate, it was closed so I went to the other side of the house and saw a management office, they said  this is Al Othman House and it’s a new historical museum that will open to public shortly, it hosts art gallery and exhibitions halls.

I ask if they could give a brief tour inside but they said that I needed a written approval, they were kinda sceptic when I told them about the blog and all (obviously many are still not familiar with blogging in Kuwait). Long story short, I managed to get some photos and information about the it so bear with me.

The museum is managed by Kuwait National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters and took over two years of work, they are still working. The museum is divided into three sections;

Bait; It contains rare historical items and antiques for old Kuwaiti houses, the living room, the bride’s room, and Diwan.

Drama; Focuses on traditional Kuwaiti arts, antiques and belongings of old Kuwaiti artists. There is a theater to show classic movies and there is an art gallery.

Life Journey; Shows the chronicle of events for Kuwait development, the workmanship, the crafts and there are dhows (old ships) displayed.

It’s great to see that Kuwait is finally paying more attention for historical museums in recent years, I’m looking forward to having a visit when it’s finally open for the public.

Address: Al Othman Street – Hawally block2

Some images via [link2][link3]

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