Page 203 - 4 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Kuwait for the year 1930-31.

(Id April 1930 to 31 d March 1931.)

BY
Lieutenant-Colonel H. R. P. Didcson, CJ.E.,
Political Agent, Ku.cait

General. now consist* of about 10,000 souls. There are
,.) The Principality of *«.<, -low.it is. .. ^ ^
Independent Arab State in special treaty relatione engaged in the Tailoring Trade. Outside the capital
with Ills Majesty’s Government. It has a distinc­ the inhabitants of the principality are all Aruba
tive flag of its own : red with the word “ Kuwait ” and arc mostly nomads. At a rough estimate
in Arabic characters written in white across it, these number about 10,000 souls. The only settled
On the Ruler’s own flag arc also written the villages ire Jahrah, at the head of the Kuwait
words vertically and close to tbc flagstaff side of the Biy, which has a population of about 1,000 souls:
flag " Therre is no God but God and Moharaed is Filikah vilLage, on the island of the same name at
His Prophet.” the entrance of the Kuwait Bay with a similar
(6) The Frontier.—The frontier line of Kuwait population and the smaller villages of Hawaii,
i s aa follows :— Dimnah Fantaa, Abu Hulaifah, Fuhaihil and
Starting from the aouthern portion of Ran al- Shu’aibah to the South and South-east of
Qulai’ah (12 miles from Kuwait), with the town Kuwait.
as centre it describes an arc towards the west until (c) The town of Kuwait.—The Town now measure*
it intersects 29° latitude, and from this point runs about 3\ miles along the shore, having extended
in a straight line to the Batin valley, (near Rigai) considerably in recent years towards the East. . Ita
opposite the junction of the Wadi al-Aujah with greatest depth, about a mile and quarter, is near
the Bitin. The line then rans northward .-ilong tbc centre of the Town, where the long suborb
the Batin Valley to a point just south of the Latitude called Murqab has grown out from it towards the
of Safwan, then eastward, passing jest south of South-east.
Jabal Saaam, Safwan and Um Qasr, and so on to The streets are irregular and winding and the
the junction of the Kuwait with the Khaur ’Ab­ town is not laid out ou any general plan. Most
dullah. The territory enclosed within this line and of the houses have only a ground floor, but appear
the Persian Gulf, together with the island of Warbah, higher owing to a parapet wall enclosing the roof.
Bubiyan, Mask an, Failakah, ’Auhah, Kubbar and There are over 40 mosques, of which nine are Friday
Gram al-Maradim, is recognised aa belonging to Congregational mosques. None of them have any
Kuwait. architectural merit and follow closely the severe
(c) Kuvcait Neutral Area*—The tract of country and simple style of those found in Nejd and the
bounded on the North by the Southern portion of 'Wahabi Capital of Riath, mosque minarets from
the Kuwait frontier as described above, on the east which the faithful are called to prayer are of the
by the sea, and the west by the Shaqq. and oo the squat square type and do not overlook the neigh­
south by the straight line running due east from the bouring houses.
Shaqq through ’Ain al ’Abd to the aca North of In the year 1920, the existing Tow* Wall
R&s al Mish’ab is recognised as common to the built by the late Shaikh Salim al-Mubarek as-8ubah.
two States of Nejd and Kuwait, in which both It is about miles in length and haa 3 gate*. la
enjoy equal right*. addition to the gates which are protected by tower*,
(d) Population.—The Capital itself has a popula­ there is a bastion every two hundred yard* through­
tion of about 60,000 souls of whom the greatest out the length of the walL At its base the wall is
majority are Arabs. The Persian Community, some 13 feet broad but tapers to 3 feet at the top,
however, has greatly increased in recent year* and Iu height is about 16 feet between tower*.