Page 283 - 4 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Kuwait for the year 1932-33.
{1st A pril 1932 to 31st March 1933.)

BY
Lieutenant-Colonel H. R. P. Dickson, C.I.E.,
Political Agent, Kuwait-
however, has greatly increased in recent years and
General.
now consists of about 10,000 souls. There are over
(o) The Principality of Kuwait.—Kuwait is an 5,000 Negroes, some 300 Iraqis and a few Jews.
Independent Arab State in special treaty relations There arc also about a dozen Indians mostly engaged
with His Majesty’s Government. It. has a distinc­ in the tailoring trade. Outside the Capital the
tive flag of its own: red with word ‘‘Kuwait ” in inhabitants of the principality are all Arabs and
Arabic characters written in white across it. arc nomads. At a rough estimate these number
On the Ruler’s own flag are also written the about 10,000 souls. The only fettled villages are
words vertically and close to the flagstaff side of Jahrnh, at the head of the Kuwait bay, which
the flag “ There i6 no God but God and Mohamcd has a population of about 1,000 souls: Falikah
is Hb Prophet ”. village, on the island of the same name at the
(/.) The Frontier.—The frontier line of Kuwait entrance of the Kuwait bay with a similar popula­
is as follows :— tion and the smaller villages of Hawaii, Dimnah,
Starting from the Southern portion of Ras al Fanta8, Abu Hulaifah, Fuhaihil and Shu'&ibaL to
the South and South-East of Kuwait.
Qul.u’ah (42 miles from Kuwait), with the Town
(Political Agency) as centre, it describes an arc (c) The Town of Kuwait.—The Town now mea­
towards the West until it intersects 29° latitude, sures about 3] miles along the shore, having extend­
and from this point runs in a straight line to the ed considerably in recent years towards the East.
Batin valley (near Rigai), opposite the junction Its greatest depth, about a mile and a quarter, is
of the Wadi al-Aujah with the Batin. The line near the centre of the Town, where the long suburb
then runs Northward along the centre line of the called Murqab has grown out from it towards the
bed of the Batin valley to a pqint just South of the South.
latitude of Safwan, then Eastward, passing imme­ The streets are irregular and winding and the
diately South of Jabal Sanam, Safwan and Urn Town is not laid out on any general plan. Most
Qaar, and so on to the junction of the Khor Zubair of the houses have only a ground floor, but appear
with the Khaur 'Abdullah. The territory enclosed higher owing to a parapet wall enclosing the roof.
within this line and the Persian Gulf, together with There are over 40 Mosques, of which nine are Friday
the island of Warbah, Bubiyan, Maskan, Failakah, Congregational Mosques. None of them have any
’Auhah, Kubbar, Kara and Umm Al-Maradim, is architectural merit and follow closely the severe
recognised as belonging to Kuwait, as are also the and simple style of (hose found in Nejd and the
waters of the Khor ’Abdullah South and West of Wahabi Capital of Riyadh ; Mosque minarets from
a line drawn down the centre of the estuary from which the Faithful are called to prayer are of the
its junction with the Khor Zubair to the open sea. squat square type and do not overlook the neigh-
(c) Kuwait Neutral Area.—The tract of country bounng houses.
bounded on the North by the Southern portion In the year 1920, the existing Town Wall via
of the Kuwait frontier as described above, on the built by the late Shaikh Salim al Mubarak Aa-
East by sea, and the West by the Shaqq and on Subah. It is about 4} miles in length and has
the South by the straight line running due East three gates. In addition to the gates which are
from the Shaqq through ’Ain al ’Abd to the sea protected by towers, there is & bastion every 200
North of Ras al Mish’ab, is recognised as common yards throughout the length of the wall. At ita
to the two States of Nejd and Kuwait, in which base the wall is some 13 feet broad but tapers to
both enjoy equal rights. 3 feet at the top. Ita height is about 16 feet between
(<0 Population.—The Capitol itself has a popula­ towers.
tion of about 60,000 aouU of whom the greatest (/) Education.—There are a great many schools
majority are Arabs. The Persian community, of a sort in Kuwait. The Arabs conduct at least