The city of Kuwait is the capital city of the country that shares its name. The city is a lively metropolis that has plenty to offer for tourists visiting from anywhere in the world.
This modern city has high – rise hotels, beautiful parks, mosques, historical buildings and museums. The best way to learn all about the country is via the National Museum – Kuwait.
Location
National Museum – Kuwait is located along the Arabian Gulf Street, standing in the middle of Seif Palace and the Parliament.
Getting There
Flying in to Kuwait City is via the Kuwait International Airport which is located about 16 kilometers off the southern section of the city.
To get to the National Museum – Kuwait, your best option is to take a taxi. If you will be coming from you hotel, you can take any one of the hotel taxis usually situated just close to the entrance. These taxis are colored white.
If you will be coming from other parts of the city, the Yellow Taxis – actually a mix of beige and white – are everywhere in the city so you can easily hail one of these to get to the museum.
There are likewise public buses that you can take, for a more affordable mode of transport. The buses run in and around Kuwait City so reaching the museum shouldn’t be a problem in one of these.
What to See and Do
The National Museum – Kuwait also houses a planetarium. The museum is actually divided into two buildings. The first building houses artifacts found during archaeological explorations around Faiika Island.
Engraved tools, ancient doors made from wood, fossils from animals that are about 16 million years old, implements from the Neolithic Era, statues of silver and coins made of bronze are only some of the collections you can view inside the first museum.
The second building houses exhibits on the country’s rich heritage. The museum actually makes you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time as it looks like an old village straight from the 1940s and 1950s.
Statues depicting the traditional life of the Kuwaitis back in the olden days are found inside this museum. There are likewise various photographs that provide you with a glimpse of life in Kuwait during the mid – 1940s and 1950s.
Brief History
National Museum – Kuwait is housed in what used to be the former residence of the Al Badr family. Archaeological relics dug up from Faiika Island grew to a large number that a dedicated place for these became an immediate need.
The government then decided to but the old Al Bard family home to convert it into a museum specifically for the relics.
The collection grew over time and the exhibits are now displayed in two separate museum buildings.
Although plans for the museum started some time in the 1960s, it wasn’t until 1981 when work on the museum began. On the 23rd of February in the year 1983, the museum was finally opened to the public.
Cost
There is no entry fee to gain access to the National Museum – Kuwait.
Bus rides are approximately two hundred fils for traveling within the city. Taxis on the other hand, cost about KD 5 the hotel taxis and KD 1 and KD 2 for the Yellow Taxis.
Other Information
The National Museum – Kuwait is open from Monday thru Saturday; from 8:30 in the morning up to 12:30 in the afternoon; and then again from 4:30 in the afternoon up to 8:30 in the evening.
On Friday mornings, the museum is closed. Friday afternoons, it is open from 4:30 in the afternoon up to 8:30 in the evening.
The museum was badly destroyed and plundered during the Iraqi invasion but it is slowly being rebuilt.
