In his work Shipmasters of Kuwait, Khaled H. Bourisly describes Hawally before it was built up starting in the 1950s. 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 throughout the 1940s. 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 king 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.” Here are some more of the interesting places in Hawally:

• Al Rehab Complex – Al Rehab was built between 1971 and 1973 during the Second Master Plan. 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 more rural. 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 and 1973 and was designed by the late 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

• 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
• Sabeika Mosque – a large mosque on the roundabout connecting Ibn Khaldoun and Tunis Streets
• Cleopatra Recorders – a music store dating back to 1969
• Mirror House – a beautiful project completed by Lidia Al Qattan