Thursday, April 25, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Atlas Obscura - Kuwait Water Towers
Article Credit to Tony Dunnell
Kuwait City's uniquely designed water towers look straight out of a retro sci-fi cityscape.
Dotted around Kuwait City are six groupings of eye-catching water towers. Five are composed of striped mushroom-shaped towers, and a sixth features towers that look like they’re about to take off for Alpha Centauri, albeit in a retro sci-fi kind of way.
In 1953, the city set up two large seawater distillation plants. A lack of a piped water distribution system, however, meant that this water had to be transported to customers in tankers. So in 1965, a Swedish engineering firm was commissioned to build a modern water distribution system to connect the distillation plants to Kuwait City with an expansive system of water towers erected around the city.
But the Amir of Kuwait at the time, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed, didn’t want just any old water towers. He wanted structures that would also function as works of art—landmarks that would impart a sense of modernity and technological advancement upon all who gazed upon them.
The firm presented a number of tower designs, and two types were selected. Five of the groups, consisting of 31 towers in total, feature the so-called Mushroom Towers, completed in 1976. These vertically stripped towers do indeed resemble mushrooms, supported on shafts of varying heights. Each concrete tank has a capacity of 3,000 cubic meters, with the groups placed in strategic locations around the city.
Part of the reasoning behind the mushroom design was to create a kind of pillared hall, where shade was cast on the desert floor beneath the giant mushrooms. The idea was to create landscape gardens in the grounds beneath them, but not all of the groups have yet been decked out as such.
For the sixth and final tower group, the Amir wanted something even more impressive, as these were to stand prominently on the bay across from the Amir’s palace compound. The engineering firm presented a handful of designs, and the Amir chose one that wouldn’t look at all out of place in a retro sci-fi cityscape.
This group of three towers, known simply as the Kuwait Towers, was completed in 1979. The largest is a 607-foot concrete “needle” supporting two spheres along its length. The spheres themselves are clad in enamelled steel plates, arranged in spiral patterns and in eight shades of blue, green and gray—a design chosen to imitate the mosaic surfaces of Islamic domes.
The lowest but largest sphere is divided in two; its upper half contains a restaurant, banquet hall, and an indoor garden, while the lower half holds a large reservoir. The second and highest sphere holds no water, instead functioning as a rotating viewing platform and café. The second tower is 482 feet tall and serves only as a water tower. The third is a bare needle with no spheres but does hold equipment and lighting that illuminates the other two towers.
Know Before You Go
The five groups of Mushroom Towers can be seen sprinkled around Kuwait City, and are typically admired from afar as nothing more than landmarks. The map coordinates above point to the Kuwait Towers, located in downtown Kuwait City, on the bay and just off Arabian Gulf Street in the Sharq District. The Viewing Sphere opens from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. The entrance fee is 3 Kuwaiti dinar (about $10 USD). The restaurant is free to enter and is open from 8 a.m. until midnight.
Sign up for newsletter and get the best of Atlas Obscura in your inbox. [link] Some really good articles about interesting places to travel to.
They also have an article on the House of Mirrors, Qadsiya, Kuwait [link].
Sign up for newsletter and get the best of Atlas Obscura in your inbox. [link] Some really good articles about interesting places to travel to.
They also have an article on the House of Mirrors, Qadsiya, Kuwait [link].
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
2019 WFF Middle East Championship
In 2019 WFF returns to Kuwait for another unforgettable experience. Saturday, 4 May will see Bodybuilders and Beach Models hit the stage and battle for over $40,000 cash.
Don't miss the 2019 Middle East Championships in Kuwait City.
Registration and weigh-in will be on Friday, 3 May starting at 9:00am.
- Saturday, 4 May 2019 from 10:00-20:00
Review: Notre Dame Deep Cleansing Facial
Notre Dame Clinic is located on the 7th floor of Mallorca Medical Centre in Block 1, Bneid Al Gar at the corner of the 2nd ring and the 30. The clinic came highly recommended. The first impression was great, I was really impressed with the pristine decor, cleanliness of the clinic and the friendly staff. Even the bathrooms are gorgeous.
My 15-year-old daughter has typical teen skin: spotty, oily patches and dry patches. This was her first ever professional facial (trust me there is a huge difference between a cheap beauty salon facial and a deep cleansing clinical facial by a trained esthetician). The lovely esthetician was very sweet, informative and well trained, she did a thorough cleanse, tone, massage, mask and moisturising. My daughter loved the whole experience especially her blackhead free nose and spotty bump removal.
The very next day we could see how much clearer and more even toned it looked. 3 days later, and it is looking amazing. I will definitely make this a regular thing for her. Professional facials are far more effective than anything you can do at home or in a salon. It is recommended to do one per month to keep your skin in tip-top condition.
The price was excellent KD 35, compared to KD 50 I paid elsewhere for myself. So happy mummy and happy teen. 10/10
My daughter had deep cleansing but the facial can be tailored to your needs depending on skin type.
Appointments Tel 66663820, 66662910, 22282352.
Map [link]
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
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