Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Designed by a Swedish architectural firm and opened in 1979, the largest of the three
towers rises to a height of 187m, and houses a two-level revolving observation deck, gift
shop and cafe. The lower globe on the largest tower stores around one million gallons of
water. The middle tower is also used for water storage, while the smallest tower is used to
light up the other two.
A
collection of photographs
show how the so-called 'barbarian invaders' tried to destroy the
symbol of Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.
The towers are currently closed for major refurbishment with an expected reopening by
mid-2013.
Beit Dickson
HISTORIC BUILDING
( 2243 7450; Arabian Gulf St; 8am-12.30pm & 4.30-7.30pm Mon-Thu, 8.30-11am & 4.30-7.30pm Fri & Sat)
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 con-
tribution to Kuwait is documented in the various archives inside the house.
Freya Stark spent most of March 1937 in the house and, while she adored Kuwait, she
described the house as a 'big ugly box'. Nonetheless, a collection of photographs taken
during Kuwait's British protectorate era; a replica museum of the Dicksons' living quar-
ters; and an archive of Kuwaiti-British relations that dates from the 19th century to the
1960s, when Kuwait was granted independence, make the museum an interesting place in
which to spend an hour.
Maritime Museum
MUSEUM
(Arabian Gulf St, Qibla; 8.30am-12.30pm & 4.30-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 4.30-8.30pm Fri; )
Giving an
excellent insight into the seafaring heritage of Kuwait, the entrance of this new museum is
graced with 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
inhabitants. Photographs inside the museum show the transport of water from boon to
home before desalination plants brought water to the taps of all householders.
The pearling displays upstairs comprise a fascinating collection of daily-use objects
such as a heavy lead weight, turtle-shell nose peg, leather finger ends and a wool suit to
guard against jelly fish. These objects speak volumes about the deprivations of a life spent
prising pearls from a reluctant seabed. The sieves of tiny mesh used to sift pearls accord-
ing to size, show that the effort was barely worth the dangers involved.
