Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Sydney Opera House, and was completed in 1985. The two sweeping roofs were de-
signed to evoke Bedouin tents and the building is befitting of the first parliament of the re-
gion. The building is not generally open to the visiting public.
Old Kuwaiti Town
NOTABLE BUILDINGS
(Arabian Gulf St, Qibla)
Situated just southwest of the National Assembly Building on Arabian
Gulf St, the houses in this complex of replica 19th-century dwellings gives a good idea of
what Kuwait City would have looked like before the discovery of oil. The neighbouring
blocks are being redeveloped to approximate traditional 20th-century dwellings - now
there's progress!
Souq
SOUQ
(btwn Mubarak al-Kabir, Ahmad al-Jaber & Ali al-Salem Sts; 9am-1pm & 4-9pm Sat-Thu, 4-9pm Fri)
True to
its origins, Kuwait City has retained the old souq in all of its complex, bustling and con-
voluted glory in the city centre. Albeit partly housed now in a smart, modern building,
complete with cubby-holes of lockable wooden shutters, it nonetheless exudes antique
practices, from the sharp haggling over ribands of offal and tails of ox, to the quick-witted
trading of olives and dates in the extensive food halls of
Souq Marbarakia
. It's a wonderful
place to idle a few hours, and indeed an entire lunchtime could be spent sampling delic-
acies without ever setting foot in one of the numerous snack shops that line the outer rim
of the souq.
The souq also comprises the small, covered
Souq al-Hareem
, where 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 opens out into lanes stocked with woollen vests and Korean
blankets.
The close-by
Souq ad-Dahab al-Markazi
is the city's central gold market and many shops
spangle with wedding gold and local pearls along the perimeter of Souq Marbarakia.
Liberation Tower
TOWER
( 2242 9166; Abdullah al-Salem St, Safat)
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
