Twenty-One Doors on the Government List, and Seven of Them on Arabian Gulf Street

Kuwait’s portal carries a single table gathering the country’s doors into history, art and science. Twenty-one entries with their names, addresses and numbers. Reading it row by row shows things that do not appear when you ask about one place at a time.

One street holds a third of them

Seven of the twenty-one sit on Arabian Gulf Street alone: the National Museum, Sadu House beside it, Modern Art beside that, the Dickson House Cultural Centre opposite Souq Sharq, Bait Al Badr in Qibla, Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah past the National Assembly building, and Bait Lothan in Salmiya.

So half a day on one street passes seven of them, and four of those are within walking distance of each other.

Four with no number

The table leaves the telephone column empty for four: Saif Marzouq Al Shamlan in Daiya, Al Hashemi II beside the Radisson Blu on Al Bida Street in Salwa, the Red Palace in Jahra, and Kuwait Police in Bneid Al Gar behind the palace of Sheikh Mubarak Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah. Anyone heading for one of those should check its hours well in advance.

An entry that is not a place

Among the names is one you cannot drive to: “the imaginary museum: an online tour of Bait Al Othman”, its address given in the table as “a website”. It sits on the list beside Bait Al Othman itself in Hawally, on Abdullah Abdullatif Al Othman Street.

The doors that do not come to mind

• The museum of historic, classic and traditional cars — Shuwaikh Industrial, block 1, street 49.
• The Al Ojairi astronomy museum — inside the Kuwait Science Club beside 360 Mall.
• Sheikh Mubarak’s kiosk — in Souq Al Mubarakiya itself.
• The house of mirrors — Qadsiya, block 9, street 94, house 17.
• The Qurain martyrs’ house — Qurain, block 4, street 3, house 59.
• Kuwait House of National Works — north Shuwaikh, villa 32, beside the popular theatre.
• The science museum — Mubarakiya, opposite Safat Square.

Before you go

The table gives the name, the address and the phone, and gives neither opening hours nor entry fees. Calling before you set out is the step that saves the whole journey.

Photo: a stone bridge joining two museum wings. By The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Source: Kuwait’s e-government portal, the “museums of Kuwait” page in the visitors section.