The first book I read after moving to Kuwait that got me really interested in the history of the country was Kuwait Transformed by Farah al Nakib, which details the process of urbanization that took place after the discovery of oil in 1938. There are a lot of of other English-language works to learn about Kuwait, including the various works by Jehan Rajab, Claudia Al Rashoud, Souad M. Al-Sabah, B.J. Slot, and many more. These readings prompted me to more actively explore the country, particularly anything related to history, culture, and art. Here is a list I’ve compiled of things to do in Kuwait:

• Visit a museum
• Take a daytrip to Failaka Island
• Visit historic sites around the city
• Go shopping (for gold, antiques, books)
• Eat at a traditional restaurant
• Enjoy Kuwait’s nature (animal life, the desert, the waterfront)
• Take a sightseeing walk
• Visit an art gallery
• Take a workshop
• See historic houses in Kuwait
• Go urban exploring
• Admire the historic mosques, modern mosques, and churches of Kuwait
• Explore Mubarakiya
• Visit Kuwait’s “Brutalist Souqs”
• Visit the Kuwait Towers and water towers
• Visit the company town of Ahmadi
• Take a tour of the Arab Organizations Headquarters
• Watch a camel race
• Attend events during Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah’s annual cultural season

Using the “My Maps” feature on google maps, I’ve made a map of the sites I’ve blogged about. They are organized into museums, mosques, historic sites, and other. If you click on the location of the site, a link to the post about it should pop up (although this only appears to work on computers and not on phones). You can access the map through this link.