In Kuwait Transformed Farah Al Nakib calls Salmiya Kuwait’s main commercial district. It was once called Dimnah and was where the Awazem tribe settled. In 1904, John G. Lorimer reported that 35,000 people lived inside the town walls and 2,000 lived in outside villages, such as Dimnah. With the modern urbanization of Kuwait, Salmiya turned into a neighborhood primarily for expats. Nakib reports that, “by 1969, 81 percent of the inhabitants of Salmiya were non-Kuwaiti.” Here are some interesting places in Salmiya:

Imam Hussein Mosque – built in 1986, this mosque has a capacity of 6,000 worshippers

Al Khalid Complex – a shopping center built in the 1980s. The photos below were taken before the complex was renovated and the restaurant Fresh shut down. Tampopo & Bonjiri – two of the best restaurants in Kuwait. Zeri Crafts – this shop is located along Gulf Road in an old beach chalet

Barayeh Salem – a cute pedestrian street with some neat artwork of Kuwaiti media (more below)

According to this article, Barayeh Salem opened in 2018. There are various murals along it. Many of them reference Kuwaiti media, including this mural of the first feature film to be produced in the country: بس يابحر or Bas Ya Bahr, released in 1972. It’s title in English is “The Cruel Sea” (although the literal translation would be, “stop it, sea!”). Directed and funded by Khalid Al Siddiq, the story centers around pearl diving, which dominated Kuwait’s economy before oil. According to the podcast Tea with Culture, al Siddiq was driven to make the film because the world only associated Kuwait (and the Gulf region more generally) with extreme wealth. When he was at a film festival to show his 1965 documentary The Falcon, journalists only asked him about the types of cars and other luxuries people had in Kuwait. Al Siddiq did not want the history of struggle and poverty to be erased and forgotten. You can watch the film on YouTube.

Gold Suq – located directly behind/across the street from Marina Mall is one of Kuwait’s gold suqs. And Badriya Mosque: a newly built Ottoman-style mosque

Antique Mall – a little further down Salem al Mubarak Street is this great antique mall, located in the basement of one of the complexes. Zahra Complex & Al Fanar Mall: two of the many shopping centers on Salem Al Mubarak street

Kuwait Palace Hotel: a notable building designed by Saleh Al-Mutawa

Nasser Al Sabah Mosque: built in 1981, it is one of the most recognizable mosques in Kuwait. Pearl Al Marzouq: a notable apartment building, nearby is an abandoned palace. Scientific Center: one of the many museums of Kuwait, it sits along the Marina Walk. One of the most popular and pleasant places to walk in Kuwait, you can see its route on the map below–the thin green line along the coast. On the final google maps screenshot below, you can see the starred location of Barayeh Salem, Al Fanar, and the Scientific Center to see where they are in relation to one another within Salmiya