Kuwait

My flight was the last to land at Kuwait’s airport before its runways were shut down. A desert sandstorm that would engulf the Arab state for the night was creeping in and the air felt heavy.

“You’re lucky you made it tonight – so many flights were turned back. It is the time of the year when the sand takes over,” cautioned the immigration officer as he checked over my e-visa, raising a curious eyebrow. “We don’t see many Western tourists to Kuwait. What are you planning on doing here?” he asked with genuine interest, rather than the interrogative tone you might expect. As I outlined my plans for the next few days to his amusement, he stamped my passport before imparting one last local piece of advice: “Don’t forget to go to The Avenues mall – it’s the greatest!”

This seldom-visited Arab State is perhaps best known for its vast oil fields, desert landscapes and the Iraqi invasion of 1990. Developing international tourism hasn’t so far been a priority, and the country lacks both a tourism board and any clear plan in attracting visitor attention. Neighbouring Saudis make up the bulk of foreign visitors, with many coming primarily for the shopping and the beaches. Yet I wasn’t there to visit any malls, but rather to explore the many new cultural institutions that had opened their doors over the last few years and to understand a little more about Kuwait’s unique history.

My guide and host was Fatima Al Mattar, a social media influencer and entrepreneur, who founded the first all-female international travel consultancy in the Arab Gulf. She was very enthusiastic about the country’s still undiscovered potential for travellers, and began my visit by taking me on a drive around the thoroughly modern capital, Kuwait City.

“In the 1950s and 1960s it was a boom-time for our economy, and there was a strong modernisation drive all around the country,” narrated Fatima as we drove past a medley of gleaming skyscrapers and ’60s and ’70s-style apartment and office blocks. “Many historic buildings were replaced by modern ones. Then again, we lost many more to the Iraqi invasion too,” she continued, explaining the sad truth behind the new-build patchwork of the city.

The timing of my visit coincided with the full reopening of one of Kuwait’s most storied locations, the Al Salam Palace – the first palace ever built for a Kuwaiti Emir. Heavily damaged during the Iraqi invasion, many of the site’s treasures were plundered at the time. Following extensive restoration works, the building has been turned into a museum complex that presents Kuwait’s history from ancient times to the present day. I found the galleries dedicated to the 1990 invasion particularly impactful. Fatima and her team were quite emotional after the patriotic multimedia presentations were over, and to my surprise, so was I. Anyone can relate to the pain inflicted by the atrocities of war, and in Kuwait this is still very much a not-too-distant memory. My mind travelled to Ukraine and the horrors that continue to unfold there.

Before leaving Al Salam, we stepped back in time with a tour of the Central Hall, which took us deep into this region’s history. It features just 20 displays, showcasing the presence of ancient civilisations across Kuwait. Each one was special. We saw the oldest model of a boat in the world, made from clay during the Ubaid period, approximately 7,000 years ago. This was followed by the biggest Dilmun-era seal ever found, a huge Hellenistic inscription stone and the oldest extant Umayyad-era coin. One location also came up time and again, written on the captions of most of the artefacts on display: Failaka Island.

“All layers of Kuwaiti history are found on one island: Failaka,” agreed Fatima, “and you’d be surprised at its strong connections with Greece, too,” she added, knowing my heritage and how much it would pique my interest.

She arranged for Beder, a local Failakawi (now a former resident of the island), to take us on the half-hour ride to Failaka from Kuwait City.

“Since you’re Greek, you will know the name of our island comes from your language: ‘fylakio’, meaning guard post,” explained Beder with plenty of pride. “Our island is so special that even Alexander the Great came to visit!”

Indeed, archaeological research has found that the island was named Ikaros by Alexander and played a major role in his military campaign against the Persian Empire – modern-day Iran is just across the Arabian Gulf.

As soon as we disembarked onto the tiny jetty, we headed straight for the remains of what was once a major Hellenistic-era fortress, dating from around 300 BC. The site included two temples, one of which still retained a few Ionic-style columns, yet it was eerily empty and felt sadly abandoned, with its purpose-built museum closed indefinitely. Nonetheless, Kuwaitis do seem to recognise the enduring importance of this historic place. A drawing of the Hellenistic temple takes centre stage on the Kuwaiti one-dinar banknote – no small feat for what is considered the world’s strongest currency.

Alexander and his troops weren’t the first to discover this strategically important island. Right next to the Hellenistic temples, we found the remains of a Dilmun-era trading settlement, dating back to 2000 BC. Fatima explained that hundreds of the famed Dilmun seals were found on the island and that archaeological excavations were still ongoing. I queried the absence of both locals and visitors, and it was then that Fatima, joined by young tourism entrepreneur Sulaiman Alroudhan, started to elaborate on the troubled recent history of Failaka.