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ShareBy Rashed Meshal
KUWAIT: Destroying a country’s historic buildings is like destroying its identity. A lot of countries have faced some difficulties, including wars, urbanization and modernity. Those factors and many more can cause historical buildings to decrease in number. There have been several efforts from governments, NGOs and activists to rescue the rest of these buildings. Kuwait Times digs deeper into this issue.
From his perspective, historian Saud Al-Musallam told Kuwait Times that nations excel with their history, and without history it is like they do not exist. “The greatest loss for history is Kuwait Sour (Wall) that got destroyed in 1957,” he said. Historically, Kuwait Sour was built in 1760. He commented that the Great Wall of China is hundreds of years older, and it still exists. Saud added that there are little efforts done to rescue those buildings from demolishment; he also thinks that buildings destroyed will never be revived again.
Dalal Aldayel, founder of the Tura initiative for preserving oral history, thinks that Kuwait has great historical buildings. Still, sadly, more buildings are being destroyed lately, noting that “destroying buildings can erase the city’s history. Demolishing them not only removes these physical reminders but also disrupts the continuity of the city’s story, making it harder for future generations to connect with their history.”
She added: “When you go to a city, you always want to go to the old town because it is a good experience that tells a story about the country.” To add to her point, she said demolishing a building means losing architectural value that could never be restored. Furthermore, she valued the existing efforts of volunteers who make people aware of the value of historical sites by making videos, writing articles and so on. Also, she mentioned that the National Council for Culture, Art and Letters (NCCAL) has recently become more active in preserving historical sites.
Aldayel suggested several measures that could be taken before, during or even after demolishing buildings. “Before demolishing the building, you can preserve it or invest in it. During the demolition, you can preserve the exterior; preserve the building’s materials as well as documenting the history of the ones that can’t survive,” she said. Some historical buildings were demolished in Kuwait, such as Bayt Lothan, which was built in the 1930s by Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem in Salmiya. It was eventually demolished to be replaced by a shopping mall.
Also, Kuwait’s Entertainment City was built in 1984 as an amusement park, and a lot of people have memories associated with it where their childhood memories were made, but it was fully demolished in 2020 to build a bigger, modern amusement park. In addition to the Al-Sawaber Complex, which was an old district in Sharq, built in 1981. It was a landmark and architectural edifice, but was demolished in 2019.
