Tourist Books about Kuwait

A collection of “Travel Books on the Middle East” although none are clearly about Kuwait

On this post, I wrote about various historic hotels in Kuwait, most of which no longer stand. While researching this topic, I came across various older tourist books about Kuwait, which I found interesting.

1947: Journey into the Unknown with Motorcycle and Camera through the Orient by Josef Sledzinski (1898-1973). According to the seller on abebooks, “he grew up in Istanbul. Fluent in Turkish, he was enlisted as a motorcylist in the Imperial Ottoman HQ during WW1. With possibilities for travel reopening after WW1, this describes close to 2 years spent during 1935-36 visiting 20 countries on 3 continents, covering over 80,000km, and putting his life at risk by taking over 6000 photos. His routes took him from Germany into Kuwait and Iran via Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq.”

1952: in their December edition, National Geographic published an article entitled “Boom Time in Kuwait”

1953: According to this article by Mahmoud Zakaria, “the book Im Auto nach Koweit (By Car to Kuwait) by Austrian traveler and engineer Max Reisch stands as a valuable scholarly record of Kuwait’s history. The Austrian explorer visited Kuwait in 1952 in his small van, capturing photographs as he entered through the city wall. Reisch offered vivid and detailed observations of Kuwait, praising its openness, development and hospitality. Reisch poetically described Kuwait as ‘a blossoming flower in a sea of Arabian sands’.”

1953: this is a guide for Bahrain, but it is so beautiful I wanted to include it on this post!

1961: Arab States Tourist Guide published by the Arab Tourist Union in Cairo. This is the oldest purpose written guide book for tourists which mentions Kuwait that I’ve been able to find! Older may surely exist, which I will continue to look for

1964: Kuwait Tourist Guide, Published by Ministry of Guidance and Tourism – images from 248

Here is a later edition, dating to 1968:

1965: “Motoring in the Middle East”, which gives the address for hotels in the country at the time. (1) 1965-66; (2) 1967; (3) 1968/9; and (4) 1969/70

1968: A Tourist Guide to the Arab World, also published by the Arab Tourist Union in Cairo

1971: Businessman’s Guide to the Arabian Gulf States

Another copy on abebooks provided more images:

1970s: Arab Tourism Encyclopedia 1973-1974, which includes a lovely hand drawn map on which you can see Failaka Island

1970s(?): In her work Middle-Aged Women in Kuwait: Victims of Change, Zubaydah Ali M Ashkanani cites from the “Failaka Touristic Guide.” I have not been able to find this source, but would so love to!!

Here is a “then and now” that I took using an old pamphlet that was once listed for sale on eBay. The Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC) is a government-owned entity. Established in 1976, TEC became one of the first touristic regulatory bodies in the Arabian Gulf region.

1972: Kuwait in Pictures by Camille Mirepoix. On Failaka, they write, “The island today is a pleasure spot, visited by the Sheikhs in their yachts for a change of pace and even a holiday. Gazelles roam through it, placed there by rulers of other times. Many visitors to Failaka are childless wives who wish to become fertile. According to the writings of H. R. P. Dickson (who grew up in Kuwait as the son of a British consul), the Shrine of Al-Khidr, a legendary saint, situated at the end of a small promontory, is the place these women go to. Tourists, along with many Kuwaitis, cruise to Failaka just to lie on its sunny beaches. Among the curiosities of the island are ancient graves over 20 feet in length, considered as graves of giants who once resided in the ruined city. The fresh breezes of sun-washed Failaka, its calm and loveliness beneath a cloudless sky, are a far cry from such legends.”