Last night Apple announced the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo amongst other things, and according to my source, all the new devices will be launching in Kuwait this month. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo have different pre-order and launch dates, so I’ve separated them below.

Apple Watch Series 12 & Ultra 4, AirPods 5
Pre-order: No date shared with me
Launch Date: September 18, 2026 at 4PM

iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max
Pre-order Date: September 12, 2026 at 3PM
Launch Date: September 18, 2026 at 4PM

iPhone Duo
Pre-order Date: October 16, 2026 at 3PM
Launch Date: October 23, 2026 at 4PM

Similar to last year, Kuwait’s pre-order and launch dates are in line with the US.

The iPhone Duo is obviously the more interesting of the two phones, but since I don’t really need a larger screen, I’m most likely getting the iPhone 18 Pro.

I’m currently waiting to get the final local prices. Once I have them, I’ll post those up as well.

Here are my favorite activities taking place this weekend. There’s a good variety, so check them all out below:

Thursday, September 10
Take a Letter Leave a Letter
Sonder Goods Pop-up at Baked
Baiti Expo

Friday, September 11
Early Morning Paddle
Morning Milers Social Run Club
Red Bull Padel Dash
Take a Letter Leave a Letter
Sonder Goods Pop-up at Baked
Paw Print Workshop
Baiti Expo

Saturday, September 12
Early Morning Paddle
Try Windsurfing
Happy Unbirthday Hangout
Storytelling with The Carpet Guy
Mafia Game Night
Red Bull Padel Dash
Bedazzle Your Candle & Cup
Take a Letter Leave a Letter
Sonder Goods Pop-up at Baked
Story Trunks Workshop
Baiti Expo

I had to remove my previous post about the 3D printed mosque because I got caught caught in the middle of a dispute between the architects and contractor regarding ownership of the project. I’m just posting this notice because I think it’s important to be transparent about these things instead of having a post suddenly disappear without any explanation.

Last time this happened was in November 2024.

Al Shaheed Park Phase 3 is set to open next month, but I got an early look at the park a couple of years ago and I was really impressed by the variety of activities and features it will have. I took a lot of notes, and here are some of the interesting things you might not know about Phase 3:

• The new phase is the largest phase of Al Shaheed Park. It’s larger than Phase 1 and nearly double the size of Phase 2.

• The large metallic structure where the old ice skating rink was located is the theater with over 2,300 seats and the largest stage in Kuwait.

• There was a small outdoor cinema area behind the theater

• The building that impressed me the most was the one that houses the ice skating rink and snow park. The snow park is already open and is huge, with slides, zip lines, an ice climbing wall and areas for people to play with snow.

• The ice skating rink is Olympic size and has spectator seating, so it will be able to host official ice-related sporting events like hockey and figure skating competitions.

• The new ice skating rink has a small tribute area to the old rink. It’s a mini museum made up of items from the old rink, including some of the terracotta tile wall patterns, ceiling beams, original seats and other items.

• There is a gigantic indoor-outdoor karting track that spans 3 floors, running through the ice skating rink arena as well as outside the building (so you’ll experience different climates).

• The minaret of the mosque in Phase 3 was made using some of the beams from the old ice skating rink.

• There is a skate park that looked great, as well as a parkour area and a tree climbing area that looks fun.

• There is an elevated running track.

• There is a “Silver Age” workout area specifically designed for older adults.

• There are lots of sculptures around the park by local artists.

• The Phase 3 parking lot takes up pretty much the entire area underneath the park, so every major area will have easy and close access to parking.

Some of the details I’ve mentioned might have changed since I last visited the park, but either way, it’s expected to open on October 1st, so we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.

Note: The first two photos were taken by @slaiman.jpg, the rest by me. The photos are not current.

Yesterday Ace Hardware opened their new location in Shuwaikh, and what makes this location special is that it’s located on the corner opposite Bin Nisf. Bin Nisf and Ace Hardware are basically the dream team for DIYers, so having both right in front of each other makes it so much more convenient to bounce between the two. That whole street is actually pretty convenient now since you also have True Value and JAS located there as well.

This specific Ace store is smaller than the Al Rai location and more in line with the size of their Hawally and Boulevard locations. It’s two floors, but the lower floor just has the paint department. There are 26 parking spots outside, and during the day I’m not sure if that will be enough. Although thinking about it now, I’ve never not found parking there when visiting Bin Nisf, so it should be fine.

Speaking of their Al Rai location, that branch recently closed down. Turns out that whole block is getting demolished and a new building will be built in its place, which will eventually house Ace Hardware again.

Here is the location of the new store on Google Maps.

Ok, so they recently introduced new blinking traffic lights, and I like it, especially the blinking red before turning to green. Mainly because it gives me the chance to put my phone away and get ready to move, but also when I’m in my manual cars it allows me to shift into gear before it turns green.

But, what I do have an issue with is people who thinking a blinking green light is equivalent to a red light. I don’t get it! On more than one occasion I’ve had to avoid a car suddenly stopping in front of me because the light started blinking green.

I think they introduced this new feature pretty much overnight and the channels to used to inform people and the language as well didn’t reach a large chunk of the population. So now some people don’t know what the blinking green light means and are panic stopping. Maybe we can just keeping the blinking red and remove the blinking green since I don’t think it has any purpose anyway?

Signature Spa is celebrating the first anniversary of their women’s location this month, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce them in case you haven’t come across the spa before.

Signature is a luxury wellness spa where every detail is part of the experience, from the atmosphere and treatments to the smaller touches you might not normally think about. The idea is to make the whole visit feel more like a complete wellness ritual rather than simply coming in for a massage.

A big part of that experience is the quality of their massages and the attention you get from their therapists. The treatments feel very personal, with the therapists taking the time to understand what you need and making sure you’re comfortable throughout the whole experience. The calm and private treatment rooms also help make it feel like the spa is all yours while you’re there.

The location also adds to the whole luxury experience since they’re inside Al Hamra Mall, which feels like the perfect spot for them. If you’re looking for a spa experience that goes a little beyond the usual massage, you can check them out at @signaturespawomen

And if you’re a man, Signature also has a location in Al Hamra Mall, as well as a new location in Khiran Mall. You can check them out at @signaturespakw

Here are my favorite activities taking place this weekend:

Thursday, September 3
Bugsha Market at Assima Mall
Eco Talks
Back to School with Pro Heroes
Glassmaking: Galaxy Swirl Beads
Chinese Movie Night – Monster Hunt

Friday, September 4
Try Sailing
Bugsha Market at Assima Mall
Clay Charms Pens Workshop
Pets Themed Bedazzle Workshop
Red Bull Padel Dash
Back to School with Pro Heroes
O.P. Social Run Series

Saturday, September 5
Try Sailing
Bugsha Market at Assima Mall
Red Bull Padel Dash
Urban Sketchers at Tareq Rajab Museum
Come Show Us Something
The Beauty in Structure with Fedha Nazar
Book Bedazzling Night
Back to School with Pro Heroes

Back in the 70s, Finnish architects Reima and Raili Pietilä were hired to design an extension of Seif Palace that would house the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project started in 1973 and was completed in 1983, and although it was a major project in a prime location, surprisingly there isn’t a lot of documentation online about it.

What initially caught my attention were the colored tiles, which Reima and Raili used extensively throughout their design. When you look through the photos, you’ll either love the design or hate it. I’m on team love it, but I’d totally understand if you hated it.

The bright colors had a purpose, they were inspired by the woven partitions used to divide up traditional tents. For the exterior walls, they used a soft yellow color because they disliked how new buildings at the time were replacing traditional coral stone and mud-wall houses. They wanted the building to have a more local spirit while also connecting it to the older Seif Palace buildings.

The sea was also very important to their design. The water fountains in the courtyards and terraces were designed to resemble ceramic coral flowers, to reference the site’s former connection to the sea.

The first time I came across photos of the building was through Thorsten Botz-Bornstein, a professor and researcher who was living in Kuwait until recently. Thorsten was, and still is, obsessed with the building and has done more research on it than anyone else. He first contacted me back in 2012 to let me know that after years of petitioning and waiting, he was finally able to get access to the building so he could document the changes that had been made to it.

The building went through two redesigns, first in 1998 and then again in 2016. Although it looks completely different today, Thorsten was able to find a few connections to the past. I’ve shared a couple of before and after photos here, but if you want to see all of them, they’re on his website botzbornstein.org/pietila

The photos I’m sharing were either taken by Claudia Alrashoud, scanned from the June 1983 issue of the Japanese magazine A+U, or taken from Thorsten.

You can also see more photos on my instagram account by clicking here.

As work on the fire damaged area of Souk Mubarakiya nears completion, I recently remembered I was actually there when the large fire took place on March 31, 2022.

It was around 3PM and the scene was pretty unreal when I got there since it was mostly business as usual. There was smoke rising in the background, but everyone was pretty casual going about their day like it wasn’t a big deal. I guess none of us at the time knew how big the fire would become and how much of the market it would end up burning down.

Once I got closer to the fire, things were completely different. The fire was loud with lots of pops and bangs, and there was the sound of glass breaking everywhere. You could also feel the heat of the flames from where I was standing, which was at the main entrance to the street that had Al Shemam and the fish market on the right, and the bukhour and fragrance market on the left. The left side was on fire at that point, but the fire was creeping towards the Al Shemam side through the roof.

The firefighters still hadn’t arrived at this point and there was a huge number of onlookers, as well as people who were trying to put the fire out themselves with water hoses and fire extinguishers. Employees from the food shops nearby had moved their gas cylinders into an open square, where I also saw a pile of wooden benches that I guess were from one of the tea shops near where the fire was.

I spent around 3 hours there, and by the time I left around 6:30 PM, the police had shut down the area and forced people out of the market. Although the firefighters and police hadn’t arrived when I got there, by the time I left there were hundreds of them on the scene, and I even spotted firetrucks from the National Guard coming in to help.

To check out more photos from that was as well as videos, click here.