Sharq is one of the old neighborhoods of Kuwait City. In Kuwait Transformed, Farah Al Nakib writes that Kuwait town, “consisted of two main sea-facing quarters: Jibla to the west and Sharq to the east, al-Wasat in the middle. Jibla was hub of urban oligarchy. The residents of Sharq were more directly dependent on the sea for their livelihood and where most pearl merchants lived… whereas Jibla was the mercantile quarter, Sharq was the maritime quarter. Sharq absorbed most of the newcomers to the town, becoming the largest and most culturally heterogenous district.” In the paper Cartographic Analysis of Urban Expansion in Kuwait, Mohamed Aziz and Nayef Alghais note that, “Kuwait is the only Arabian city that built three walls as a result of its urban expansion, which showed the intention of integrating the newcomers.”

Here are some interesting sites in Sharq within walking distance of each other:

Fisheries Building: According to Abdulraouf Murad, the Fisheries Building was built in 1979 on top of an old Jewish cemetery. Below is a wonderful painting by Zahra Marwan. She writes, “my dad worked at the Kuwait National Fish Company in Al-Sharq, where both sides of my family lived. Where the old Jewish cemetery used to be. Impressions of my grandmother.” There are two other paintings by Marwan above. The first is entitled “Mama’s youth in Old Sharq.” Zahra writes that it shows, “Mama catching locusts on the roof of their house in Old Sharq as a child, a former Kuwaiti delicacy. I’m really jealous of the fact that they used to sleep on the roof.” The second is entitled “When I felt shy as a child.” In the bottom left you can see the water towers.

Fatima Al Zahraa Mosque: a small mosque, next to it is an abandoned apartment building

Al Hamra Tower: the tallest building in Kuwait, completed in 2011 and Behbehani Complex: a shopping complex with the name of one of Kuwait’s most influential families. According to this video, the Behbehani Group was founded in 1935, in 1948 the group established Kuwait’s first private radio station and in 1949 they introduced air conditioning to the country.

Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait: established in 1992, the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait publish various books on Kuwait such as “The Origins of Kuwait” by B.J. Slot, which examines Kuwait’s history in the early modern period through maps made by foreigners. Inside the building there is a small library with books in English and Arabic and Nawarat Restaurant: across the street from the Baking Tray, I’ve been told that this place has the best falafel in Kuwait

Dasman Complex: within this old shopping mall, you can find the book store Bliss & Paper

Samarqand Restaurant: a great traditional restaurant

Al-Awadhi Mosque: Bader Shaiji writes that Ahmad Al Jaber Street used to be called Dasman Street because of its proximity to the palace (here and here). In her work Abdullah Mubarak al-Sabah, Souad al-Sabah writes that, “the first paved street in the city, completed in 1945, was Dasman Street that ran from Dasman Palace to Safat Square.” You can see then & now pictures here.

Abraaj Al Awadi Towers: according to Essays, Arguments & Interviews on Modern Architecture Kuwait the towers were built in the 1980s, at time where there was “growing popularity for an ‘Islamic’ language, albeit in modernist form and construction material. Architecture included references to an Islamic heritage.” And Bisher Al-Roumi Mosque: historic mosque from 1916, nearby is the Shamlan Bin Ali bin Saif Al Roumi Mosque, built in 1893

Here are some more interesting places in a different area of Sharq:

Bait Sharq: an old home currently under renovation. These photos were taken in Sept of 2022/June of 2023.

House of Amin: next to Oula gas station on Ahmad al Jaber street, according to this post it is, “the House of Amin, a famous estate… it is now abandoned because three families proclaim ownership and the case has remained open for years due to its unique complexity. The rooftops are deteriorating but the house, built of concrete instead of traditional mud-bricks, still stands as a prominent symbol of Kuwaiti heritage and innovation.”

Bait Al Ghanim: a house built in the early 20th century, as of 2022 under renovation

Sheikh Khazal Palace: built in the early 20th century, it served as the Kuwait National Museum for a time. It suffered damage during the invasion and has continued to deteriorate since

Qaser Fahad Al Salem: another historic abandoned home, you can see photographs of the interior here and here. It is nearby to Bait Alcedra: a shop located within an old home from the 1920s

Bouresli Mosque: in his work Shipmasters of Kuwait, Khaled Bourisly explains that private boat jetties are known as a “nig’ah” and that the historic Bourisly nig’ah was located where Souq Sharq is presently. Across the street is the Bourisly mosque, built in 1916. The historic Al Mannai mosque is nearby and Souq Sharq: completed in 1998 and Al-Sharqiya School: opened in 1943, Khaled Bourisly attended this school after moving from the Muthana School. The Museum of Modern Art is located within the old

Maritime Museum: the Maritime Museum, opened in 2010, tells the history of Kuwait’s seafaring from different ages. In her work Mubarak Al Sabah: Foundation of Kuwait, Souad M. Al Sabah writes that, “pearl diving and the trade in pearls constituted one of the most important sources of income not just for Kuwait but for the Gulf in general. In the 17th and 18th centuries, pearls from the cities of the Gulf found their way to markets in Basra and Baghdad, some were exported to Damascus and Istanbul. After the introduction of commercial steamships, the markets for pearls moved from Iraq to India. During Sheikh Mubarak’s reign, the pearl trade expanded until the number of Kuwaiti boats diving for pearls exceeded 800, each with an average crew of some 70 men. Baghla sailing boats were the variety mainly used by Kuwaitis to travel to India and the eastern coast of Africa before the advent of steam. Those engaged in the diving business were known as the tawwashin. Sadly, with the cultivation of artificial pearls in Japan and elsewhere, the curtailment of the resources of wealthy Indian princes, who had been among the main buyers of pearls, and the discovery of oil in Kuwait, which offered an alternative and more lucrative way of life, pearl diving gradually diminished until it came to a complete halt. Diving as an activity declined until, by 1955, the number of pearl-diving boats that remained was probably less than 20.”

Modern Art Museum: opened in 2003, the museum is housed within a former school that was built in 1939.

Bait Ghaith: an old, pre-oil home of a merchant, built in the 1930s, in what is now largely a vacant lot. In Kuwait Transformed Farah Al-Nakib writes that, “houses in the pre-oil town were not used as projections of social status or as makers of ethnic identity” and that “most looked the same from the outside.” You can see how the house fell into disrepair, but thankfully it was not torn down and instead was renovated by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters and today houses a “ceramics house.” At the beginning of 2020, there was a porcelain handicraft workshop titled “the murals of Failaka old houses” at Bait Ghaith.

These photos from the instagram of Ali al Rais show the house before renovation.

This image was posted on 248 and comes from a study, “by architect Khalid Alsafi highlighting the constant aggressive destruction of Kuwait’s heritage and cultural areas.” You can easily spot the Maritime Museum with its two large ships out front, the Museum of Modern Art and Bait Ghaith nearby.