Kuwait’s neighborhoods: Exploring Shamiya

As part of our occasional series exploring various areas of Kuwait, Kuwait Times visited Shamiya to learn more about this historic residential area.

Shamiya is located near Kuwait City between the First and Second Ring Roads, consisting of 10 residential blocks. Although the Shamiya Gate is named the same as the area, the gate is not in Shamiya but near the ice skating rink on Soor Street in Kuwait City.

Shamiya Mayor Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Mashael told Kuwait Times about the history of Shamiya, adding that the area had the first mayoral office in 1961 – established on Independence Day.

He pointed out that Shamiya is one of the most modern residential areas. It emerged after the wall between it and Keifan was knocked down in 1957. “Shamiya is one of the most famous areas in the Kuwaiti capital – it was an open field where freshwater was available for travelers on their way to Sham. The area was known as a desert oasis where traders rested before making their way to the Levant,” Mashael added. The name Shamiya is derived from this use of the area as a location for traders from Sham.

Many traditional Kuwaiti homes in the area have been replaced with modern mansions and some of Kuwait’s oldest merchant families live in the area.

The mayor noted that Shamiya is now a developed and advanced area. “When I became the mayor of Shamiya, I organized educational, health, social and security committees to follow up and serve the area’s residents. We are now developing our education system to help students improve and get a better education.”

Mashael said the area has an intimate vibe, where all the neighbors know each other. He knows to whom every house belongs and how many family members live in it. “Shamiya’s residents would like to remain this way, but some people have chosen to rent their houses to strangers and made this an investment area. This doesn’t seem okay to me and other residents, as we would like the area to remain a residential one,” he said.

Shamiya did not become a residential area until the 1930s, when the first clay dwellings were built. The palace of the late Prince Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was the first building built in Shamiya in the 1930s. It was used by the independent American Oil Company for a period of time until 1962. It was then allocated to the ministry of education.

By Faten Omar

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