The Red Palace

09April 2012

by Tazmania

Since my early years I always read and heard many stories about the Red Palace but never had the chance to actually visit it, all I knew was that it has red walls and that its located at Jahra, literally! So be ready for a historical adventure that will take you back in time to see what really it is, buckle up.

It took me sometime to locate it at south of Jahra and when I finally arrived I saw absolutely no one, I even thought that it was abandoned but thankfully the guard suddenly appeared of nowhere and this is when my amusing tour begun. Once the gate was opened, I saw a big courtyard with some scattered trees, a camel, and a well in the center, I noticed that they did a good job maintaining the palace.

Stories say that it was built by Sheikh Mubarak Al Sabah back in 1897 and was called red because it has red walls (Red mud used to build it), it became popular after the famous battle of Jahra in 1920 where it was used as a fort to defend the surrounding areas. Its total area is around 6,500 Sq. meter and there are 33 rooms or chambers and three wooden gates with holes for shooting, there were towers too.

Currently, the red palace is used as a historical museum, the first room had a title “Hunting” and inside I saw the tools and techniques old Kuwaitis used for hunting animals.

Hunting tools below.

Hunting technique:

Weapons room: In this room they display the weapons old Kuwaitis used in battles, there were rifles, daggers, canon, and swords.

An old fighter.

A Canon.

Al Sadu (weaving) room: The term “Sadu” is an old Kuwaiti word for “Weaving Process” which was an old craft in Kuwait, in here you can see what tools and materials they used in the past to make clothes and fabric.

Agricultural room: In this room you get to know about the various methods and tools old Kuwaitis used for agriculture.

Trade room: Old Kuwaitis used to depend on trade for living, goods were brought from surrounding countries.

Kuwaiti environment: In this small chamber they displayed the various animals and plants that were common in Kuwait desert.

Past life: Here you can see how Nomad (bedouin) used to live in the past, they used traditional portable tents that were easily pitched.

Folkloric dances: In the past, they used to have traditional dance known as “Al Arda Dance”, where the men used to stand next to each other carrying swords and swing in a certain way to celebrate different occasions such as weddings, events, success..etc.

In addition to the rooms, there was a barn, a mosque, a guest room (diwaneya), coffee room among others. Some of the doors were too small for tall people, I liked how the place was maintained but still many people in Kuwait (Including locals) have no idea that such place exists, I wish there’s more media coverage so the red palace becomes a tourist attraction. I like to visit traditional places, or whats left of them, to connect to the old Kuwait and to promote our heritage and help younger generations and expatriates get an idea of Kuwait’s past.