History | |
---|---|
Builder | Ali Abdul Rassol |
Launched | 1938 |
Status | museum ship |
The Fateh Al-Khayr is a 226-ton dhow preserved as a museum ship in Kuwait at Kuwait Scientific Center. Built in 1938 in Kuwait by Ali Abdul Rassol for Mohamed Al-Ghanim and Thunayan Al-Ghanim, it is the only surviving Kuwaiti-built sailing ship of the country's pre-oil era. [1] Though the Fateh Al-Khayr shares its name with a similar museum ship in Oman, the Omani ship is a type of dhow called a Ghanjah, and the Kuwaiti ship is a variant called a boum.
After being used for long-distance voyages to Africa, the Kuwaiti ship was sold in 1952 to an Iranian captain who used it for shipping within the Persian Gulf. In 1994, it was discovered by Kuwaiti maritime historian Yacoub al-Hijji, who organized its purchase and restoration. [2] At the time, it was thought that the only surviving Kuwaiti-built boum had been destroyed during the Gulf War. After two years of work, the Fateh Al-Khayr was unveiled to the public and installed at the museum in Kuwait. [3]
Kuwait is a sovereign state in Western Asia located at the head of the Persian Gulf. The geographical region of Kuwait has been occupied by humans since antiquity, particularly due to its strategic location at the head of the Persian Gulf. In the pre-oil era, Kuwait was a regional trade port. In the modern era, Kuwait is best known for the Gulf War (1990–1991).
The House of Sabah is the ruling family of Kuwait.
Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, such as fruit, fresh water, or other heavy merchandise, along the coasts of Eastern Arabia, Iran, East Africa, Yemen and coastal South Asia. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty and smaller ones typically around twelve.
Culture of Kuwait describes the cultural aspects of the Kuwaiti society and is part of the Eastern Arabian culture. Kuwaiti popular culture, in the form of dialect poetry, film, theatre, radio and television soap opera, flourishes and is even exported to neighboring states. Within the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the culture of Kuwait is the closest to the culture of Bahrain.
Nasser Al-Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is a Kuwaiti politician who served as Prime Minister of Kuwait from 7 February 2006 until resigning on 28 November 2011.
The Scientific Center of Kuwait, located in Salmiya, Kuwait, serves as a center for environmental education in the Persian Gulf region. KSC spans over 80,000 square meters with the building covering over 18,000 square meters. The center also houses the largest aquarium in the Middle East after Dubai, holding over 100 different species of animals. Along with the aquarium, it also contains an IMAX theatre, a harbor of historic dhows, and a gift shop among other contents.
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Iran with the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia to the south. With a coastline of approximately 500 km (311 mi), Kuwait also shares a maritime border with Iran. Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of Kuwait City, the capital and largest city. As of 2023, Kuwait has a population of 4.82 million, of which 1.53 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 3.29 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries. In 2024 the population of Kuwait has risen to 4.93 million which is a population increase of 1.98% from 2023.
Eastern Arabia, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The entire coastal strip of Eastern Arabia was known as "Bahrain" for a millennium.
Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, also known as Ahmad Al-Fahad, is a controversial Kuwaiti politician, ruling family member, and disgraced former sports administrator.
Al-Hashemi-II is the largest dhow ever built, and is one of the largest wooden ships in the world today. It sits next to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It contains a maritime museum known as Al-Hashemi-II Marine Museum.
Cinema in Kuwait was introduced in the mid-20th century. The dominance of American cinema posed a problem in the formation of Arab cinema in general and of Kuwaiti cinema in particular. French film critic Guy Hennebelle argued that Arab intellectuals became convinced that only by imitating the American culture could they overcome national cultural decline and backwardness. This caused an absence of local Kuwaiti works of cinematic art. However, Kuwaitis preserved their national identity by producing local content in television. They planned a balance between preserving their national identity while also satisfying other preferences. The dependence of Kuwaiti cinema was rooted in the domination of American and other foreign-produced films.
A boum/boom, known as dhangi in India, is a medium-sized deep-sea dhow, a traditional Arabic sailing vessel.
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was the Emir of Kuwait from 24 January 2006 until his death in 2020.
Al Jalali Fort, or Ash Sharqiya Fort, is a fort in the harbor of Old Muscat, Oman. The fort was built by the Portuguese under Philip I of Portugal in the 1580s on an earlier Omani fortress to protect the harbor after Muscat had twice been sacked by Ottoman forces. The fort fell to Omani forces in 1650. During the civil wars between 1718 and 1747, the fort was twice captured by Persians who had been invited to assist one of the rival Imams. The fort was extensively rebuilt later.
A Shu’ai, Shu’i or Shuw'i is a small or medium-sized dhow, a traditional Arabic sailing vessel. This type of dhow is built low with a high quarterdeck and has one or two masts with lateen sails. A general purpose coastal boat, the shu’ai is one of the smaller-size dhow of Persian Gulf.
Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is a Kuwaiti politician and military officer who served as the Prime Minister of Kuwait from 24 July 2022 until his resignation on 20 December 2023. He is the eldest son of the late Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the former Emir of Kuwait.
Athbi Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is a member of Kuwait’s ruling Al-Sabah family and former head of the State Security Service. He is the third son of Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and a retired officer in the special forces of the Kuwaiti Army. His career has been marked by controversies, including convictions for his role in a disinformation campaign aimed at inciting insurrection and for engaging in unlawful surveillance. On May 30, 2016, he was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the Fintas Group affair, an attempt at insurrection, although he evaded incarceration. He was later included in a royal pardon issued on January 17, 2023.
The Kuwaiti political gridlock, which extended from 2020 to May 2024, was marked by a persistent standoff between the appointed cabinet and the elected parliament in Kuwait. This crisis was set against a backdrop of successive internal succession crises within the ruling Al Sabah family, beginning with the death of Emir Sabah Al Ahmad in 2020. Leadership transitioned to his half-brother Nawaf, who died in 2023, subsequently elevating Mishal Al Sabah to the role of emir. Before June 1, 2024, Mishal, the last surviving member of his generation and a son of Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah, had not appointed a successor.
Tourism in the Kuwait is an important component of the Economy of Kuwait, and consists of domestic and international components. In 2018, tourist industry composed over 1.069 billion dinars to country's GDP. The tourist industry of the Kuwait is considered the most successful among the Gulf nations, the country is also the tourist force in the Arab world. This tourism industry has employed more than 516,000 people for the State of Kuwait in the year of 2018.