The Gulf is known as a great place to shop for gold, as you can get higher quality gold for cheaper prices. This article states that gold in Dubai is 15% cheaper than in other countries due to a lack of important taxes on gold bars and lower insurance costs, among other reasons. Above you can see an old postcard of gold shops and a photo from the 1980s from “Abu Jack”. Here are some of the places that you can shop for gold in Kuwait:

Ibn Khaldoun Street in Hawally

The shops of Old Salmiya, across the street from Marina Mall and near to this newly built Ottoman-style mosque

Mubarakiya – filled with so many gold souqs and other jewelry shops, it’s a lot of fun even just to window shop!

Al-Watiya Complex near Fahad Al Salem Street

I also enjoy antiquing & thrifting. Some places you can do this kind of shopping in Kuwait include an Antique Mall in Salmiya. It is down the street from Marina Mall, along Salem al Mubarak Street, is this entrance to a basement antique mall, where you can find loads of interesting finds.

Bait AlCedra is a store near Gulf Road behind the Hub Cafe. Located in an old home dating to the 1920s, it is filled with various home goods. In this article, the owner Mohammed Alhumaidi talks about preserving the house, “to match my antiques with an antique setting.”

Cleopatra Recorders: the blog 248 posted about Cleopatra Recorders recently. They has been open since 1969 and are located in Hawally on Tunis street across from the Promenade Mall. They have many old cassettes, including music from the late singer Yousef Al Mutref (يوسف المطرف). Al Mutref died in February of 2002 after a fire broke out in his apartment along Bin Khaldoun street in Hawally. His son, Mutref Al-Mutref, is also a musician and performs today. A thesis paper by Ahmad Alderiwaish on music education in Kuwait says that, “the acquisition of Kuwaiti folk music skills is primarily through informal learning” and that “music is often a family affair in Kuwait; performance skills and repertory are passed down from generation to generation in an informal manner.” Mutref, who was 16 when his father died, learned much of his technique from him. This article contextualizes the music of al-Mutref in a larger historical tradition of Arabic poetry. You can listen to some of the music of Yousef Al-Mutref here and here. This instagram account posts clips of his music. Unfortunately, as of the spring of 2023, the Cleopatra Recorders location on Tunis Street has been closed and turned into a juice shop. The pictures below were taken in 2020-21, some were taken at a different music store in Barayeh Salem.

Friday Market

Abdulrahdi Al-Awadi in Mubarakiya

Gulf Treasures in Muthanna Complex

Here are some of the places you can shop for books in Kuwait:

• Better Books in Salmiya
• CAP Bookshop in Shuwaikh
• Bliss & Paper located in Dasman Complex in Sharq
• The National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letter library in Kuwait City
• Jarir Bookstore with several locations
• The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait in Sharq
• Rakan Book Store in Hawally
• The National Library Bookstore in Mubarakiya
• Kuwait Heritage Library in Jibla
  • You can read a Kuwait Times article about the book store here or contact them here

The story of the Family Bookshop has been posted on 248. It was first opened by missionaries in 1910. In 1969, they opened a book shop at the American Mission Hospital and also in Salmiya, which remained open until 2012.