Kuwait City, Kuwait

Kuwait City is the center of power, industry, and culture for the nation of Kuwait. The name of the city and the nation are derived from the Arabic word "kut," which means "fort." The country chose this name as a reflection of its history: The city was the first mud-walled fortress in the region. Kuwait City serves as an export city for the country's oil products.

Landscape

Kuwait City is the only major metropolitan city in the small, desert nation of Kuwait. It covers an area of approximately 200 kilometers (77 square miles) along the central eastern coastline of Kuwait and the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Bay of Kuwait. Since there are no inland rivers or waterways, the port of Kuwait City has long served the nation as the key resource for the imports and exports of Kuwait.

While Kuwait City is filled with skyscrapers, shops, and monuments, the capital is located amidst desert conditions. Like the rest of the country, Kuwait City commonly experiences long, hot, and dry summers with frequent dust storms and short, warm winters, with occasional rain. Summer temperatures hover around 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), while winter temperatures average around 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit). With this wide shift in seasonal temperatures comes an equally wide variation in annual rainfall; some years, the city receives as little as 2.2 centimeters (0.86 inches), while during other years, the city gets as much as 35.2 centimeters (13.85 inches).

Kuwait is one of the world's hottest countries and has seen increasing numbers of record-setting days. Birds have fallen dead from the sky. While its citizens seek refuge in air-conditioned homes, offices, and shopping centers, the migrants who labor outdoors most often experience the impact of this heat.

People

The population of the greater metropolitan area of Kuwait City is 3.298 million people (2023). The population of Kuwait is primarily divided between Kuwaiti citizens, residents with a secondary citizenship, and immigrant workers. Within these divisions, 30.4 percent of the country's population is Kuwaiti, according to 2018 estimates. The largest group is composed of Asians, who make up 40.3 percent of the population. Arabs from surrounding nations make up 27.4 percent of the population.

The predominant and official religion of the country and Kuwait City is Islam, with 77 percent of the city population claiming the Muslim faith. The remaining are Christian, Hindi, or Parsi.

While Kuwait City is a thriving metropolis filled with modern shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and internationally known shops, many Kuwaitis still frequent the more traditional souks (open-air markets) and maqahas (coffee shops). The Old Souk and the Friday Souk are the most famous markets in Kuwait City and are common stops for both residents and tourists.

In keeping with the Bedouin traditions of the Arab people, many of the residents of Kuwait City enjoy camping as a recreational activity. Modern comforts, including electricity and hot water, are included in elaborate camping equipment used by Kuwait City dwellers on camping excursions.

Another tradition that has survived the industrial urbanization of Kuwait City is falconry. Many Kuwaitis enjoy the age-old hobby of breeding and keeping falcons, both for hunting and to carry on ancient Bedouin traditions. A golden falcon is the part of the official emblem of Kuwait and appears in the insignia of other Arab nations.

Economy

The nation of Kuwait has more than 6 percent of the world's oil reserves, and Kuwait City serves as the export capital for the nation's oil exports and related petrochemicals and petroleum products. Because of this, Kuwait City is capital of one of the wealthiest nations in the Middle East.

Prior to the discovery of the rich oil fields of Kuwait, Kuwait City was historically known for trading in prawns and pearls, industries that persist in the early twenty-first century. Kuwait City has also grown in its trade, services, tourism, and banking markets and has a thriving hospitality industry with two premier tourist agencies.

Because of the desert conditions of the surrounding land, Kuwait City, like the rest of the country, is dependent on imports for nearly all of its food.

In addition to access through the Persian Gulf, Kuwait City is also accessible by the Kuwait International Airport, which is located just 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of the city. All means of modern transportation are available within the city.

Landmarks

The most famous landmarks in Kuwait City are the Kuwait Towers. The three-towered monument was designed by Swedish architects and built in 1975. It was opened to the public in 1979 and serves not only as a tourist attraction and landmark, but as an electrical source and water supply for the people of Kuwait City. The main tower reaches to a height of 187 meters (613.5 feet) and contains two spheres that include observation decks, restaurants, and conference training rooms. The middle tower is 147 meters (482 feet) above sea level. This tower serves as a water supply and contains up to one million gallons of water. The small tower rises 113 meters (371 feet) above sea level and controls the power that lights the other two towers as well as many of the surrounding areas of Kuwait City. Each of the balls on the towers are covered with five thousand steel plates painted in eight different colors.

Another popular landmark in Kuwait City is the Al-Sadu House. Established in 1979, the Al-Sadu House exhibits a variety of Bedouin art displays, particularly handcrafted textiles made by local Kuwaiti women. Visitors to the house can purchase crafts, observe Bedouin women weaving, and even take a weaving class.

As the capital of Kuwait, Kuwait City is home to a variety of governmental and cultural landmarks. One of the most significant of these is the Sief Palace, the official seat of the emir of Kuwait. On Arabian Gulf Street, between the palace and the parliamentary buildings, is the Kuwait National Museum. The museum includes a variety of Islamic artifacts as well as diving relics, ethnographic pieces, and archaeological materials. For visitors interested in artifacts related to the petroleum industry, natural history, and flora and fauna of the region, Kuwait City also boasts the Science and Natural History Museum of Kuwait. While the walls that originally surrounded Kuwait City were torn down in 1957, the city gates still stand and attract many visitors.

The most unusual landmark in Kuwait City is the Green Island, a man-made island with an area of 785,000 square meters (938,852 square yards). The island includes beaches, swimming areas, an amphitheater, a children's play area, a lookout tower, a restaurant, and more than 50,000 shrubs and flowers.

History

Kuwait City was founded in the early eighteenth century by the al-Sabah family, who had migrated to the coast from the interior areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The city was fortified by a surrounding mud-wall and became the first fortified settlement in the region. For more than one hundred years, the city was ruled by the Al-Sabah dynasty and survived primarily on trade based on the pearl and fishing industries.

In 1899, Great Britain stepped in to assist the ruling dynasty in regional disputes. Kuwait remained under British control until 1961, when the nation gained its independence. At that time, Kuwait City became the capital of the sovereign, democratic state of Kuwait. The capital is the seat for the emir, or head of state, who is always a descendent of the al-Sabah family. As a democratic state, Kuwait also has a prime minister, a cabinet of ministers, a national assembly, and a full court system. The government of Kuwait is based in Kuwait City.

The massive oil resources of Kuwait were discovered during the middle of the twentieth century, causing the emergence of the petroleum industry and related export interests of Kuwait City. In 1975, the government of Kuwait took complete control of the nation's oil resources and used the profits to improve the infrastructure and living conditions for the people of Kuwait. Roads, factories, and electrical plants were constructed to benefit the growing industrialized region of Kuwait City. The population of the city, and the nation, grew as the new petroleum industry and the city development plans flourished in proportion to the nation's newfound wealth. By the mid-1960s, the sovereign state of Kuwait was a successful presence in the Middle East and an active member of the Arab League and the United Nations (UN).

On August 2, 1990, Kuwait drew the attention of the world as the country was invaded by neighboring Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. Hussein attempted the hostile takeover of the small Arabic nation as a hopeful fulfillment of his vision for a united Muslim regional presence and as retaliation against Kuwait's alliance with Iran during the Iraq-Iran War of the 1980s. In response to Iraq's invasion, the United States led a UN coalition to liberate Kuwait. It successfully accomplished this mission in February 1991, in what came to be known as the Persian Gulf War. Unfortunately, the attack and occupation by Iraq caused significant damage to many of the streets, buildings, and landmarks of Kuwait City. Nevertheless, Kuwait has been successfully rebuilt since the Gulf War and has remained a significant independent oil-producing presence in the Middle East.

Between 2011 and 2013 Kuwait was one of the nations affected by a series of protests known as the Arab Spring. On November 17, 2011, Kuwaiti protesters upset with government corruption occupied the Kuwaiti National Assembly seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah, a nephew of Emir Sabah al-Sabah, and the dismissal of the government assembly. The protest was successful in removing the prime minister and dissolving the assembly. The emir put an interim prime minister in place and new elections took place on February 2, 2012. More than half of the newly elected representatives were members of the opposition. In June 2012 the constitutional court ruled that the February elections as decreed by the emir were unconstitutional. The emir then dissolved the assembly and made unilateral changes to electoral law; these changes were viewed as favoring pro-government groups. Elections took place in December 2012, but supporters of the opposition boycotted them and pro-government representatives won assembly seats. Opposition and independent candidates ran in the November 2016 elections, and won almost half of the seats.

Bibliography

Al-Nakib, Farah. Kuwait Transformed: A History of Oil and Urban Life. Stanford UP, 2016.

Al-Sabah, Meshal. Gender and Politics in Kuwait: Women and Political Participation in the Gulf. Tauris, 2013.

Christofaro, Beatrice. "Kuwait's Climate Crisis." Deutsche Welle, 30 Mar. 2022, www.dw.com/en/kuwaits-climate-crisis-a-scorching-nation-in-denial/a-61261999.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Kuwait. Westview, 2008.

Davis, John. The Arab Spring and Arab Thaw: Unfinished Revolutions and the Quest for Democracy. Ashgate, 2013.

"Kuwait." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 Feb. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kuwait/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.

"Kuwait Country Profile." BBC, 18 Dec. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14644252. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.

Olimat, Muhamad S. Handbook of Arab Spring and Arab Women: Challenges and Opportunities. Routledge, 2014.

World Trade Press. Kuwait: Society & Culture. 2nd ed., World Trade, 2011.