Amidst the rage of development currently gripping Kuwait, it serves us well to take a backward glance and remind ourselves that Kuwait was, in yearsgone by, at the very forefront of urban planning and civic development within the region. In the latest of a series of essays DalalAlZaid examines her own fondness for yesterday’s buildings, and looks at one ofKuwait’s best known yet least understood landmarks – Mishref Palace.

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kuwait’s independence, we published a commemorative book which records the establishment of the State of Kuwait, and charts its emergence as a strong, proud, and sovereign country. The book - ‘50 Years of Independence - 50 Years of Development, Kuwait 1961- 2011’ - highlights the main areas of growth and achievement

The first wall - with the growth of population and the increasing importance of Kuwait, it became exposed to many dangers. The people of Kuwait under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah bin Sabah, who ruled from 1762 to 1813, thought of building a wall surrounding Kuwait to protect it from danger. The first wall of Kuwait was built in December 1789. It extended one mile around Kuwait City between Fereege Al Nisf in Sharq district and Fereege Al

Father of Independence

As oil production boomed in Kuwait, so did prosperity. During Sheikh Abdullah’s reign, construction increased dramatically and at the heart of his policies laid the determination to ensure the welfare of Kuwait and its people. If Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah maintained Kuwait’s international and political position, then Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah established the country’s pillars of authority by finding the legal and constitutional institutions that enhanced its independence and further promoted democracy and progress.

Kuwait has been transformed throughout the past fifty years. In terms of the society, its architecture and its people, all exist in a state that, within much of the population’s lifetime, seemed impossible just half a century ago.

8th November, 1962
Kuwait’s constitution was issued on 8th November. It set out the principles for the ruling of Kuwait in 5 parts and through 183 articles

11th November, 1962
HH Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah approves and signs the constitution

Kuwait sits at a key and strategically valuable point of the Arabian Gulf; a vital trading post whose control has long been desired by those who sought to rule important trade routes.

The long history of Kuwait is marked with tales of conflict and battles. This is not untypical for the history of many countries; but in Kuwait’s case it is easy to see that on many occasions it has been the defender rather than the aggressor.

From a city which cloaked itself from shore to shore with a 6.5 kilometre wall in which the gates were locked at dusk every day, Kuwait has developed into a nation which welcomes the world.

Al Qeiblyah School for Girls

The Al Qeiblyah School for Domestic Science, in the Qeiblyah district, was originally the house of Al Sayyed Khalaf Al Naquib. It was converted into a girls’ school, it has three entrances: the main entrance occupies the northeast facade; the other two are on the southwest facade. The entrances lead to two courtyards, each with an upper storey. 

Kuwait Radio - A Brief History

The history of broadcasting in Kuwait is a long and valuable one. The first radio was brought to Kuwait by Major Frank Holmes, known throughout the region as ‘Abu Naft’, in 1934.

History is the heritage of humanity, it was written by our ancestors so that the new generations could learn lessons from the past and implement them in the present and future...

in conversation with Abdulrazzak A. Alkandari, former Ambassador

Kuwait has a long and illustrious history in the field of international diplomacy. In fact, the very emergence of Kuwait as a sovereign state is owed in part to the deft minds and astuteness of the Al Sabah family, for generations Kuwait’s supreme diplomats.

It’s probably one of Kuwait’s most enigmatic of historical buildings linked, as it is, to the days of the British protectorate. It was home to two of Kuwait’s best-known expatriates – Colonel Harold and Dame Violet Dickson. Now open as the Dickson House Cultural Center, the building was one of the first to be renovated by the engineering department of the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters. The house tells its own story of Kuwait gone by.

The house itself features a colonial balcony, a common architectural style which spread throughout the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Caribbean and across Latin America at the beginning of the 18th century. In later years this style began appearing in the East. The style is characterized with a high balcony above the house level. The purpose of this covered yet open-at-the-sides balcony is to leave it open to receive the cooling sea-breeze to temper the fierce heat of the hot summers.

On 19th June, 1961 His Highness The Amir, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Salem, signed Kuwait’s declaration of independence. With the stroke of a pen His Highness brought to end a period of British protection that had run since the reign of Sheikh Mubarak The Great in 1899.

Whilst the reasons for agreeing to exist under a state of British protection were valid in 1899, Kuwait had changed dramatically over the intervening years, and only through resuming full independence would the nation be able to grow in stature and strength.

The ending of the agreement between Britain and Kuwait was amicable. It set in train the full blossoming of Kuwait as fully independent state.

The United Nations Development Programme is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It is on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and its wide range of partners.

It’s a building that has re-written the record books, and stands as tallest concrete-clad in the world. It is the reality of a dream that began soon after liberation, and one which was endorsed by the late Emir H. H. Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Bait Ghaith bin Abdullah bin Yousef house was built in the 1930s. It is located in Sharq, near what is today the Museum of Modern Art and was formerly Al Sharqiyah School for Girls.

Archeology in Kuwait

Naturally enough much of the focus this year has been on Kuwait’s recent history - of fifty, twenty and also five years ago. Whilst each of these is rightly at the heart of events during 2011, for each year - 1961, 1991, and 2005 - marks important yet markedly different events along Kuwait’s journey, it also reflects well on the society to recall that the nation has roots which spread back much further. Indeed around 7,000 years further.

Al Sharqiyah School, given a new lease of life as today’s Museum of Modern Art

As Kuwait City has grown rapidly during the last fifty years, the wishes and requirements of society have changed too. The City has been the focus of constant redevelopment to match these needs.

A beacon for growth

The role of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce has, arguably, never been more vital to the nation than it is today. Established in 1959 it has always been an institution of high regard, and without its influence there is little doubt that Kuwait would not have grown to become the international and outward looking trading nation that it has become.

Its existence is owed to the rapid increase in commercial trade during the 1950s. With an increase in trade came, unsurprisingly, an increase in trade disputes. Initially the Chamber was established with the purpose of being an arbiter on these occasions. An independent judge empowered with discharging fair decisions to build and enhance Kuwait’s reputation as a great place to do good business.

Failaka Island & Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber’s Residence

Failaka Island is the second largest island in Kuwait and the most important archeological site in the country. The island is rich with archeological evidence representing consecutive historical epochs dating from the end of the 3rd millennium BC.

Kuwait is, in fact, a veritable treasure trove of history and heritage. Behind many innocuous and simple walls lies much to be discovered. How many visitors to Kuwait’s Souq Sharq have passed more than a simple glance towards an old building standing alone on the junction opposite the entrance to the mall? Perhaps, once having read this, you’ll gaze at it a little longer.

Driving along the Gulf Road, you may have noticed the construction work taking place at Al Americani Cultural Centre, the old American Mission Hospital. Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah’s (DAI) main offices are located in one of the buildings. The second building will be opening this year as a museum. There are several surprises in the newly renovated Americani building, writes Haya H. Alsharhan. One that the Kuwaiti community has been patiently waiting for is the final stop for the internationally celebrated exhibition Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals. After 10 years of touring renowned museums around the world, 

1961 - 2011 50 years of Independence and Growth

Naturally enough the nation’s focus this year will be - rightly so - largely devoted to our development and growth in the fifty years since we reclaimed our independence in 1961. This doesn’t mean we should ignore our noble forefathers. It is through them and their astuteness and diligence that Kuwait was in a position to emerge throughout the latter years of the 

Visions of the Past - Tareq Sayid Rajab talks with Men’s Passion’s Simon Balsom

There are many people who recall Kuwait’s times past. Every memory becomes a personal view, and over time there is no doubt that these views become distorted, and perhaps even selective. For this reason Kuwait will be eternally grateful to the work of Tareq Sayid Rajab, who has served as Director at the Department of Antiquities and Museums in Kuwait, established its foremost private museum of historical artefacts, the Tareq Rajab Museum, and who currently holds the position as Kuwait’s Representative to the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO.

Our ‘first’ this month features the first car to enter Kuwait, interestingly enough it was also the first in the Arab region, which gives us a reason to celebrate a century’s anniversary.

In a day where cars are an indispensable property to every person with an average of three cars in every household, with state of the art technology starting from pocket keys to installed phones, navigation systems never mind television and DVDs, we look back to history where owning a car was 

The Kuwait Towers

Built on a man-made headland constructed out into Kuwait Bay, the Kuwait Towers have become an iconic international symbol for Kuwait throughout the last thirty years.

Built between 1975 and 1979, they have been praised as amongst the most distinct architectural expressions in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world, the Kuwait Towers are a cultural icon and have been adopted as a visual symbol of Kuwait around the world.