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Old City Gates
Al-Shaab , Al-Shamiya , Al-Jahra and Al-Maqsab are the names of Kuwait City’s gates in Safat on Al-Soor St, the street that follows the line of the old city wall (‘soor’ is the Arabic word for ‘wall’). Despite their ancient appearance, the wall and gates were only constructed aroun
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Souq Al Hareem
In the small, covered Souq al Hareem, part of the city souq, Bedouin women sit cross-legged on cushions of velvet selling kohl (black eyeliner), pumice stones and gold-spangled dresses in the red, white and green livery of the Kuwaiti flag. Beyond the covered alleyway, the souq ope
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Grand Mosque
The Grand Mosque was opened in 1986 and cost KD14 million to construct. The largest of the city’s 800 mosques, it boasts Kuwait’s highest minaret (74m) and can accommodate up to 5000 worshippers in the main hall, with room for another 7000 in the courtyard. Tours, best organised th
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National Assembly Building
This interesting white building with its distinctive canopy was designed by Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who also designed the Sydney Opera House, and was completed in 1985. The two sweeping roofs were designed to evoke Bedouin tents and the building is befitting of the first p
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Sief Palace
This is the official seat of the emir’s court. The L-shaped Sief Palace that faces the roundabout is the original structure, dating from the early 20th century, while the new and ponderously opulent palace, complete with lake, helipad and dock for visitors’ yachts, was completed ar
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Red Fort
The town’s only sight is the Red Fort, which played a key role in a 1920 battle where invading troops from Saudi Arabia were defeated (with British help). Also known as the Red Palace, this low, rectangular mud structure is near the highway: coming from Kuwait City, take the second
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Liberation Tower
Not to be confused with the distinctive Kuwait Towers, Liberation Tower in the city centre is the tallest building in the city, and at a height of 372m claims to be the fifth-tallest communications tower in the world. Started before the invasion, the tower took its new name when it
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Al Corniche
Comprising over 10km of winding paths, parks and beaches on Arabian Gulf St (sometimes referred to locally as Gulf Rd), the corniche is marked at its southern end by the Scientific Center and at its northernmost point by Kuwait Towers. Stop off at any of the many beaches, restauran
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House of Mirrors
For a quirky art-in-action experience, visit this small museum in the suburbs. Reputedly, 77 tons of mirror and 102 tons of white cement were used to create the mosaics that spangle the entire house. The creation of Lidia Al Qattan, the project was inspired by the decoration of an
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Yaum Al Bahhar Village
With traditional wind-tower architecture, this small area of craft workshops is part of a development along the coast that includes walking paths and fountains. The workshops are open at variable times and some of the items are for sale. Not-for-the-faint-hearted crafts include she
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Friday Market
The place to buy a secondhand dress, an Afghan coat or an illicit antique from Iran, this enormous semi-covered market is a shopping extravaganza – but, more importantly, it offers a look at contemporary Kuwaiti culture and cross-border relations. Five minutes shuffling between dus
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Popular Traditional Museum
Forming part of the National Museum complex, the quaint Popular Traditional Museum – variously described as the Heritage Museum and the Culture Museum – is in Building 2, at the rear of the museum complex. It illustrates daily life in pre-oil Kuwait by means of a diorama of full-si
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Al Qurain Martyrs’ Museum
In the residential suburb of Qurain, a 20-minute taxi ride southeast of the city centre, this small museum is a memorial to a cell of young Kuwaitis who tried to resist arrest in February 1991. To understand what the Iraqi invasion meant to an ordinary Kuwaiti family, allow half an
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Beit Dickson
A modest white building with blue trim, Beit Dickson was the home of former British political agent Colonel Harold Dickson and his wife, Violet, whose love of and contribution to Kuwait are documented in the various archives inside the house. Highlights include a collection of phot
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Aquarium
Housed in a fine, sail-shaped building on the corniche, the mesmerising aquarium is the largest in the Middle East. A sign of contentment, perhaps, turtles perch on the back of lazy crocodiles, hedgehogs mate, prickles notwithstanding, in the adjacent eco-display, and even the aqua
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Arab Fund Building
Although not strictly open to the casual caller, the impressive Arab Fund Building, with a host of exceptionally beautiful rooms, is worth the trouble of gaining access. Call first to request an appointment and explain that you wish to see the building’s interior and you’ll be give
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Maritime Museum
Giving an excellent insight into the seafaring heritage of Kuwait, the entrance of this museum is graced by three magnificent dhows. Dhows and boons like these brought water from the Shatt Al Arab waterway near Basra to the bone-dry city, making a tidy profit from thirsty inhabitan
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Al Hashemi Marine Museum
This museum has an impressive collection of large, scale-model dhows. A novel shop sells 21-piece knot boards, Gipsy Moth lanterns, barometers and sextants. You can even buy your own one-armed Nelson figurine. Al Hashemi II , the huge and unmissable wooden dhow adjacent to the muse
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National Museum Complex
Once the pride of Kuwait, and one of the most important collections of Islamic art in the world until the Iraqi invasion, the National Museum remains a shadow of its former self and the interminable reconstruction works are still nowhere near completion. At the time of writing, onl
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Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyya
This exceptional cultural centre has stunning galleries that containing some of the highlights of the world-class Al Sabah Collection, part of which was in the National Museum prior to the Iraqi invasion. With informative labels in English and Arabic, videos with experts explaining
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