Kuwait City was once encircled by a mudbrick wall. In Kuwait Transformed Farah Al Nakib tells us that in 1904, John G. Lorimer reported that 35,000 people lived inside the town walls and 2,000 lived in outside villages. In his work Shipmasters of Kuwait, Khaled H. Bourisly describes Hawally when it was a village outside of the walls. He writes that, “the thriving urban area of Hawally was a little village before the 1940s set in. It had many water-wells and was a major source supplying drinking water for the entire Kuwait City. On the outer fringes of the Hawally village there was a huge well called ‘Saad.’ The Saad was the central hub of public activities and was surrounded by camels, horses, donkeys and carriages filling and loading their small leather bags and shipping containers with drinking water. During our childhood, I remember my parents taking us kids for picnics near the Saad well and in the other lush, green areas of Hawally village. But nothing remains of that little, quaint village today. Hawally has become one of Kuwait’s major business centers and is home to shops, smalls, theater complexes, restaurants, coffee shops and apartments housing expatriates of various nationalities.”

The mudbrick wall was demolished in 1957. Nakib writes that, “between 1954 and 1959, eight new neighborhood districts were constructed within the first three concentric ring roads; by 1960 a fourth ring was added to the road system and an additional seven new suburbs were completed by 1965.” This ushered in a process of state-led suburbanization. Kuwaiti families moved out of their traditional homes in the urban center and into large villas in the new suburbs. The neighborhood units were “intended exclusively for the Kuwaiti section of the population. Apartment buildings were strictly prohibited within the neighborhoods, as was renting of any kind. Non-Kuwaitis were prohibited from owning property in Kuwait and therefore could only rent accommodations in privately owned, multi-occupancy buildings. Such buildings were restricted to commercial areas being developed by the private sector, such as Salmiya, Hawally, and the city center. By 1969, 81 percent of the inhabitants of Salmiya, Hawalli, and Kuwait city were non-Kuwaiti.” Today, Hawally remains primarily occupied by expats (who make up more than half of the overall population of Kuwait). Here are some interesting sites around the city:

Kuwait Disabled Sports Club: a prominent complex, behind which stands what appears to be an abandoned hotel

Al Habesha – you can find lots of great local restaurants and many different kinds of food in Hawally, given the diversity of the population, but a personal favorite are the Ethiopian Restaurants across from the gold suq

Gold Suq – there are several gold suqs around Kuwait, including along Ibn Khaldoun Street in Hawally

Al Othman Mosque – a historic mosque dating back to 1958

Promenade – according to this blog, the Promenade opened in 2015. Next to the mall is a pedestrian bridge which includes the phrase, “Your Driving is a Symbol of Your Civilization” (which we included on the Hawally Bound map made in the spring of 2022). Living in Kuwait, I always found the warnings on pedestrian bridges interesting, some of which you can see below. I also found Bakala signs to be interesting, some of my favorites are also seen below.

Bait al Othman – this museum, opened in 2013, “aims to document the pre-oil era of Kuwait’s history and culture.” It is located in an old home from the 1940s.

On this flickr you can see the museum in 2009 before its renovation:

Bait Al Othman museum includes many sections focusing on everything from the discovery of oil, the history of the theatre in Kuwait, antiques, the traditional set up of homes, wildlife (there are live birds in one room!), traditional architecture, and more. Next to the museum is Yadawi.

Ornate Water Fountain – near the Kuwait National English School is a beautiful, Safavid-style water fountain.

St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church – you can see photographs of the beautiful interior here and here

Al Nugra Complex – at the end of Beirut Street you can find the northern and southern Nugra complexes (only the northern complex remains open). Designed to be a commercial and residential complex, “Nugra promised not only housing and high living standards, but also a new lifestyle with all the aesthetic references of a ‘futuristic’ living. Built in different stages the scheme can be understood from the air-conditioned pedestrian bridge that connects the commercial southern complex to the mixed-use complex north” (Kuwait Modern Architecture). The first photo of the interior of the pedestrian bridge was taken in 2020, the second in 2022.

Rakan Book Store: close by to Al Nugra, it primarily sells book in Arabic, although you can find some in English

Al Rehab Complex – Al Rehab was built between 1971 and 1973. Today, it is where you go if you want to buy video games. It also has this Vintage Toys Museum. There’s also a tree with a protective gate around it in the nearby parking lot, from the days Hawally was a rural village. According to this article, the tree is 200 years old!

Abdulaziz Al Qattan Mosque – this mosque was built in 1956, just two years after Hawally was arranged by the municipality and one year before the old city wall was torn down.

Hassawi Complex – this residential complex was built between 1968-73 and was designed by the Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji, recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. In the article Souq Brutal, Sara Saragoça Soares writes that “his motivations were clearly influenced by a regionalized architecture that preserved a sense of place”

Qadsia Sports Club – the stadium accommodates 26,000 people

Muhallab Mall – a new shopping center, I was told some people call it the “Titanic Mall” because of its shape. Across the street are some interesting shops, including an Al Nazaer location

Hawally Park – these pictures were taken during April of 2020, when the park was shut down due to covid

Rashid Mosque – like the Al Qattan mosque, is older and has the typical look of historic mosques in Kuwait and Sabeika Mosque – a large mosque on the roundabout connecting Ibn Khaldoun and Tunis Streets

Cleopatra Recorders – a music store dating back to 1969 (it has since closed)