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Bait Al Ghanem

In her work The Voice of the Oud, Jehan Rejab includes some photographs and information on Bayt Al Ghanim. She writes that it was built around 1915 by Sheikh Khaza’al and notes how the building was unique in some of its features. Today the building is in ruins (although as of 2022 is under renovation). It is located across the street from the ruins of the Sheikh Khazal Palace. The photos above come from this flickr album, the photos below come from Voice of the Oud.

As of 2022, the building is under renovation, which has generated some controversy over the methods being used. Here are some photos taken showing the progress of the renovation: from the fall of 2021 to the fall of 2022 to the summer and fall of 2023.

These photographs of Bait al Ghanim come from the instagram of Ali al Rais and Kuwait: Arts and Architecture, A Collection of Essays.

The first three photographs of Bait Al Ghanim come from the flickr of Justin Nabity and show the house in 2009, the Fahad Almazyad photos come from the same year. The last two come from the flickr of Chester Robbins and show the house in 2007.

These photos come from this flickr and show the house in 2019.

The section of the article below comes from the article Socio-Spatial Analysis of Traditional Kuwaiti Houses by Omar Khattab. You can see some more lovely photographs of the house on the blog of Maha Alessa, taken in 2018.

13 comments

  2. […] This palace was built by Sheikh Khaz’al of Muhammarah, a friend of Sheikh Mubarak, in 1916. After his death, his widow continued to live in the building. Freya Stark went to visit her in 1937. The building served as the Kuwait National Museum from 1957 until 1976. The building began to deteriorate and was further damaged during the invasion. It is currently on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The older photographs of the building come from Maha Alessa’s instagram. Across the street are the ruins of the Al Ghanim house. […]

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  3. […] This palace was built by Sheikh Khaz’al of Muhammarah, a friend of Sheikh Mubarak, in 1916. After his death, his widow continued to live in the building. Freya Stark went to visit her in 1937. The building served as the Kuwait National Museum from 1957 until 1976. The building began to deteriorate and was further damaged during the invasion. It is currently on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The older photographs of the building come from Maha Alessa’s instagram. Across the street are the ruins of the Al Ghanim house. […]

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