Interesting facts about Kuwait City

kuwait city

Kuwait City is the capital and largest city of Kuwait.

The city is situated on the southern shore of Kuwait Bay of the Persian Gulf.

As of October 2020, the population of Kuwait City is about 4.1 million people.

The city covers a total area of 200 square kilometers (80 square miles).

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In 1613, the town of Kuwait was founded in modern-day Kuwait City.

In 1716, the Bani Utubs (a tribal confederation of Arab clans) settled in Kuwait. At the time of the arrival of the Utubs, Kuwait was inhabited by a few fishermen and primarily functioned as a fishing village.

It was long the only populated place of consequence in the country.

Kuwait was the center of boat building in the Persian Gulf region. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, ship vessels made in Kuwait carried the bulk of trade between the ports of India, East Africa and the Red Sea.

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Oil was discovered there in 1936. By 1953, the country became the largest exporter of oil in the Persian Gulf.

The city rapidly became a flourishing administrative, commercial, and financial centre, with modern hotel and high-rise office buildings – its banking facilities were among the largest in the Middle East.

When Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait (August 1990 to February 1991) during the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi forces systematically stripped Kuwait city of its food supplies, consumer goods, equipment, and other movable assets, and many of the city’s inhabitants fled the country.

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Today, Kuwait city has many luxurious residences, tree-lined avenues that carry heavy automobile traffic, as well as a number of parks and gardens.

The Kuwait Towers are a group of three slender towers in Kuwait City, standing on a promontory into the Persian Gulf. They were the sixth, and last, group in the larger Kuwait Water Towers system of 34 towers (33 store water – one stores equipment), and were built in a style considerably different from the other five groups. The Kuwait Towers were officially inaugurated in March 1979 and are regarded as a landmark and symbol of modern Kuwait.

kuwait towers

The Liberation Tower is a 372-meter (1,220-foot) -high telecommunications tower in Kuwait City, the second-tallest structure in the country and the 39th tallest building in the world. Upon completion in 1993, the tower was renamed the Liberation Tower, symbolizing Kuwait’s liberation from Iraq. The tower is not publicly accessible to tourists. However, the complex building attached to the tower houses government offices.

liberation tower

Souq Al-Mubarakiya is a souq in Kuwait City. It is one of the oldest souqs in Kuwait, and was the center of trade prior to the discovery of oil. This market has been around for at least 200 years. he market was damaged during the Iraqi invasion in 1990, however it was renovated and it got back its traditional flavor.

souq al mubarakiya

 

The Grand Mosque is located in Kuwait City. It is the largest and the official mosque in the country of Kuwait. Its area spans 45,000 square metres (480,000 square feet), out of which the building itself covers 20,000 square metres (220,000 square feet). The main prayer hall is 72 metres (236 feet) wide on all sides, has teakwood doors, and has lighting provided by 144 windows.

grand mosque kuwait

Holy Family Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City, dedicated in 1961. The church contains a statue of Our Lady of Arabia, a smaller replica of the 1949 cedar statue enshrined at the Catholic church in Ahmadi, Kuwait.

Holy Family Cathedral

The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre (JACC), informally known as the Kuwait Opera House, is a prominent cultural center in Kuwait, located on the Gulf Road in the capital Kuwait City. It is the largest cultural center and opera house in the Middle East.

sheikh jaber al-ahmad cultural centre

The Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Centre is a cultural complex located in Kuwait City, Kuwait owned by the Amiri Diwan. It consists of six main components – The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Space Museum, Arabic Islamic Science Museum, Fine Arts Centre and the external spaces known as the Public Realm. The Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Centre is a 18-hectare site making it the world’s largest museum complex.

sheikh abdullah al-salem cultural cent

Al Shaheed Park is the largest urban park in Kuwait. It is a fully integrated cultural platform with cutting-edge architecture and art works. The park’s Amphitheater diversifies into different kinds of gardens, walkways, museums, exhibition areas, outdoor theatres, and performance centers for music concerts, theatrical performances, art exhibitions, and other kinds of cultural events.

al-shaheed park

The Green Island is an artificial island in Kuwait, off the coast of Kuwait City’s promenade. It was opened in 1988 and is a popular tourist attraction and it is the first artificial island in the Persian Gulf region.

green island

The Al Hamra Tower is a completed skyscraper in Kuwait City. Al Hamra is the tallest building in Kuwait and the 23rd tallest in the world.

alhamra tower

The city’s name is derived from the Arabic kūt (“fort”).

The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest-valued currency unit in the world. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP and 90% of export revenues and government income.

Kuwait City has a hot desert climate with extremely hot, very prolonged summers and mild, short winters. It is one of the hottest cities in summer on earth.

Sand storms occur at times during summer from the shamal wind. Sand storms can occur any time of year but occur mostly during summer, and less frequently during autumn.