Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
27
Bahrain
C3
28
Canada
D2
29
Egypt
C2
30
Hadi Clinic D3
Iran
(see 35)
31
Jordan
C2
Lebanon
(see 35)
33
Netherlands D4
34
Oman
C3
35
Qatar
D2
36
Syria
F5
Turkey
(see 35)
37
UAE
D2
38
USA
E4
Transport
40
Ferry to Failaka Island
F2
History
As improbable as it seems today, Kuwait City was until recently a nomadic port town and
Salmiya consisted of a few mud huts around a tree - and that is within the living memory
of the older generation. Suddenly, within the past two decades, a booming Middle Eastern
metropolis has burst from its skin and the gates are all that remain of the redundant city
walls. Three successive master plans have tried to give direction to this capital growth, al-
lowing for generous mortgages and free housing for the needy, but the growth is organic
and unstoppable.
One of the few things that hasn't changed is the city's name. The capital evolved from a
collection of Bedouin tents around a well into a small military outpost with a
kout
(small
fort adjacent to water). This
kout
was built in 1672 by the Bani Khalid tribe who came
from the Arabian interior to escape drought. The word
kout
evolved to give the city (and
indeed the country) its name.
Something else that hasn't changed is the city's relationship with the sea. Its natural
harbour made it an ideal location for a port. Indeed, it proved such an excellent port that it
