According to the Kuwait News Agency, Souk al Mubarakiya was established 120 years ago during the reign of Sheikh Mubarak. In her work on him, Souad Al-Sabah writes that, “from the outset, Kuwait was controlled by the desert and the sea. The desert imposed the Bedouin way of life, with camel and goat herding, as the nomads travelled to find water and new pastures. On the other side, the sea was the key to Kuwait’s prosperity. Pearl diving provided a major source of income, while maritime commerce was Kuwait’s outlet to the rest of the world. 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. [Also during his reign] Kuwait saw the rise of local industries. Markets grew up named for the craft whose products were sold, such as the jewellers’ market, the bisht market, the gun market and so on.” A large section of Mubarakiya was destroyed by a fire in the spring of 2022; this Kuwait Times article discusses the heritage sites that were destroyed. Above you can see a map from Bazaar and another made by Zahra Marwan as part of a project with Huda Abdulmughni. Here are some of the historic sites within Mubarakiya:

These photos come from a work published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait, Kuwait Philatelic, Getty Images, Brett Jordan, Verity Cridland, Kuwaitt Kuwaitt, Twitter, Middle East Eye, KUNA, 248

Safat Square: in pre-oil Kuwait Town, the large, open-air market just outside of the city limits was known as al-Safat. In this large, undeveloped clearing, the Bedouin tribes of the surrounding hinterland set up temporary stalls where they traded with the townspeople. Over time, the urban souq Mubarakiya extended into al-Safat. The older photograph below was seen in a book published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait. From Safat Square you walk onto “New Street.” On the left stands an old building which dates back to before the 1960s, on the right stands a new luxury shopping complex, Safat Al Mubarakiya.

New Street: no longer accessible to cars, when you enter Mubarakiya from Safat Square, it is through New Street. In many of the old photographs of Mubarakiya, you can see this rooftop restaurant along New Street–I’m unsure of its name or when it was built over

Shater Abbas: located here, I am unsure how long it has been opened, but Shater Abbas is a popular restaurant

The oldest restaurant in Kuwait: a traditional restaurant that had been open since 1932, it was unfortunately damaged and closed during the fire in Mubarakiya during the spring of 2022

The Kiskh or Kiosk of Sheikh Mubarak: Mubarakiya was established 120 years ago during the reign of Sheikh Mubarak, who ruled from 1896 to 1915. Mubarak was first to build a kiosk or “kishk” in the market, which still stands today. His office was located on the second floor, from which he observed and monitored all activity in the market below. He also toured Mubarakiya every afternoon in a black Victorian carriage drawn by two black horses.

Historic Well: founded in 1876 by the Al-Duaij family, it was built to provide fellow townspeople with water. According to Kuwait Transformed by Farah al-Nakib, “prominent individuals… provided the townspeople with access to free fresh water in tanks. Most well known was Abdulaziz Ahmed al-Du’aij, who built a large tank in the suq that he kept filled with water brought at his own expense from the water import dhows or brought in by camel from one of the freshwater wells outside of town.” You can find the site on google maps as “Sibeel Duaij.” You can also see the location of the site (Bin Duaij Market) on the map of Mubarakiya on this map, it is right near SoMu. The first two photos of it below, in which you can see the progress of the mosque being built behind it, were taken in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021. The old pictures of Kuwait below come from the book The Voice of the Oud by the late Jehan S. Rajab, an English woman who married a Kuwaiti man named Tareq Rajab in the 1950s.

Souq Al Manakh: built between 1973 and 75. Its name comes from the term “nakha” which refers to a camel in a sitting posture because the location of the structure used to be a destination for camel caravans.

Gulf Bank Headquarters: a notable modern building in Kuwait, it was built between 1969 and 1974. The design was inspired by the sea, using ‘accropode’ type structures which are designed to resist the actions of waves.

Mubarakiya School: according to Kuwait Transformed, in the early 20th century wealthy merchant families in Kuwait donated 77,500 rupees to establish the town’s first public school (prior to this children went to private neighborhood Qur’anic schools). The Al Khudhair family donated a house near the suq for the school, which was named the Mubarakiya School after the ruler at the time–Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah. It opened in December of 1911. According to the work Mubarak al-Sabah, “amongst other things, pupils were taught grammar, dictation, composition and handwriting and were introduced to Arabic literature. In addition, mathematics and geography were taught, together with some basic ideas about engineering. In deference to tradition, the curriculum also featured religious sciences, which included the study of the Qur’an and its exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence and an introduction to Islamic doctrine.” According to Kuwait Modern Architecture, the current structure dates from the late 50s. The authors write that, “gradually the site acquired various uses after the school closed down, hosting the Central Library in 1979, the National Library between 1985 and 2011 and at present, the History of Education Museum.” In this article you can see some old photographs of the school. The black-and-white photograph comes from a 1952 National Geographic article about Kuwait. The last photo comes from this instagram post

Historic Post Office: behind the school, you can find a historic post office. According to Mohammed Abdul-Hadi Jamal in his work History of Postal Services in Kuwait, Kuwait’s importance as a trading center led to the establishment of postal services in the country first under Sheikh Abdullah I (r. 1776-1814) At this time, “postmen used camels for carrying letters from Kuwait to Syria–the service was known as the desert express.” In 1915, the first official post office opened in Kuwait. It was located in the Dickson house and remained there until 1929. New technologies changed how mail was delivered around this time; in 1923, the Nirm brothers began to operate overland mail between Baghdad and Haifa using trucks and in 1927 the British Royal Airlines established an airmail route between Baghdad and Cairo. In the 1940s, Kuwait’s post office was moved to the Sheikh Mubarak Kiosk for a time and in the late 50s, a post office was opened in Safat Square (the present location of Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait).

The National Library Bookstore: founded in 1920 by Muhammad Ahmad Al-Ruwaih. It is considered the first commercial library to sell books, magazines and stationery.

Souk Al-Kabir Mosque: built in 1794, the mosque was then renovated in 1839 and 1953. Once the primary mosque of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber was inspired to build a new state mosque because it didn’t have a large enough capacity and some worshippers always had to pray outside.

Bunashi Cafe: located here. This Kuwait Times article writes that, “while many people in Kuwait choose to have their coffee and leisure beverages at high-end cafes and malls, there are some who prefer the comfort of a traditional cafe. Historically, [they] were considered as hangouts for merchants and dhow captains. The most traditional cafes were situated near the old sea ports and the merchants market, with the oldest one being cafe ‘Bu Nashi,’ a Kuwaiti citizen with roots in Hassa region in modern-day Saudi Arabia.” The photos below come from user uploads on google maps.