Page 537 - 4 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 2_Neat

Report on the Trade of Kuwait for the year
1943—1944 by Major M. P. O’C. TANDY,
POLITICAL AGENT, KUWAIT.
PAP.T L
(a) General Description.
1. Political Status. The only settled villages arc Jahrah, at the head
of the Kuwait bay, which has a population of about
Kuwait is an Independent Arab State in special 1,000, Failccha village, on the island of the same
Treaty relations with llis Majesty’s Government. name at the entrance of the Kuwait bay with a
The Kuwait flag is a red rectangular flag with similar population, and the smaller villages of
" KUWAIT ” written in white Arabic characters. Hawaii, Dimnah, Fantas, Abu Hulaifab, FuJi&iliil
The Ruler’s personal flag lias an additional Arabic and Shu’aibah to the South and South-East of
inscription on tho hoist a translation of which is Kuwait.
44 THERE IS NO GOD BUT GOD AND MOHAM­
MED IS HIS MESSENGER 5. Kuwait Toicn.
The town now measures about 3J miles along the
2. The Frontier. .i . shore having extended considerably in recent yearn
Taking tho old Political .Agency as the centre tho t)lc East It6 greatest depth, about a
frontier follows an arc of a circle from the Southern mi|e and a quarter> is ne3r the centre where the
part ot Kasai Quia! ah to its inters, etion with j 6uburb Mllrqab ^ grown out towards
latitude 29 N, and then continues along this lati­ the south.
tude to the Batin near Rigai. Tho frontier turns
North-East along the centre line of the Batin to The streets arc irregular and winding and the
meet tie latitude of a point 1050 yards South of town is not laid out on any general plan bet has
S.ifwan. It then follows this latitude in an Easter­ grown up aloDg the sea shore and round the cential
rnirket square known as the Safat. There ire no
! ly direction towards Khor Zubair to the junctions buildings of any architectural interest or merit.
of that Khor with Khor Abdullah after which it
continues along the centre line of the latter Khorto iIust of the hou!f ^ °fthe sin8'e 'rarkty
the sea. The territory enclosed within this line arc comparatively low but appear high owing to a
and the Persian Gulf together with the islands P^apet wall enclosing the roof.
AVarbah, Bubivan, Maskan, Failecha, 4 Auhab, There are over forty Mosques, of which nine are
Kubbar, Karu,' and Um-Al-Mamdim is recognised Fnda>’ Congregational Mosques, but none of them
have any archaeological interest and follow closely
as belonging to Kuwait.
the severe and simple 6tyle of those found in Nejd
3. Kuwait Nttolral Territory. and the AVahabi capital of Riyadh.
The tract of country bounded on the North by In the year 1920, the existing town wall was
the southern portion of the Kuwait frontier as built by Shaikh Salim al Mubarak As Subah.
dcscril>ed above, on the East by tho sea, arid the It is about 51 miles in length and ha* four gates
A\est by the Shaqq and on the. South by a straight and, in addition to the gates which are protected I
line running due East fr<m the Shaqq through Al by towers, there is a bastion every 200 yards
Ain al *Abd to the sea North of Has cl Misha’ab, is throughout the length of the wall. At its base the
recognised as cemmcn to the two States of Ntjd wall is some 13 feet broad but tapers to 3 feet at the
and Kuwait, in which both enjoy equal rights. top. Its height is about 16 feet between towers.
4. Population. 6. Administration.
Tho capital itself has a population of about The Ruler, Shaikh Sir Ahmed bin Jabir A*
80,000 souls of whom the majority are Arabs. The Subah, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E., is assisted in his Govern-
Persian community, however, has greatly increased meut of the Anurate by an Advisory Council
in recent years and now consists of about 11,(//) nominated from members of the Ruling family and
souls. There are over 6,000 negroes, s*me 300 the leading merchants.
Iraqis, one Jewish family, and a few British Indians 7. Currency.
engaged in trade. Kuwait has no currency of its own. Business is
Outside the capital the inhabitants of the Amirate normally transacted in Indian Rupees but Iraqi
numbering about 12,000 souls are all Arabs and are dinars, Saudi Rials and hlaria Tlicreaea Rials are
in the most part nomadic. accepted by merchants. Notes are now preferred

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