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T.
Al-Sultan By-Line
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Kuwait
is a country that has many things to offer. From its vast
natural resources to its high standard of living, Kuwait is
one of the smallest yet richest countries in the world. In
this research I have examined the rise of Kuwait as a nation,
location in the Gulf region, climate, religion, population
growth, urban growth, education, and economy.
Kuwait,
or officially the State of Kuwait, was referred to by the
name "Quarian" or "Grane" in the early
seventeenth century. From what I learned in the book of
the modern history of Kuwait, it has not been possible to
pinpoint an exact date for the rise of Sheikdom of Kuwait
under the ruling family of AL-Sabah.
However earlier research
based on records offered from the English East India Company,
says that ?the town was built around 1716 A.D.
According
to European and Arabic resources, the name Kuwait appears
on the map dated 1765, by Danish traveler Niebuhr.
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That
was accepted as the date for the rise and not the establishment
of the city?, Under Sabah, first ruler of Al-Sabah family
(1752-1764).??Grane? was the original name of the State
of Kuwait.? Grane existe before the small fortress called
Kuwait,? built by the old ruler of Kuwait Barrak, the
Shaikh
of the Ban Khalid
tribe. This tribe also ruled Eastern Arabia in the late
seventeenth century. By the end of the eighteenth
century the city was called by the name Kuwait officially.
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Kuwait
lies at the northwest corner of the Arabian Gulf (Persian
Gulf). To the north and the west it shares a border of 240
kilometers (149 miles) with Iraq. To the south and the southwest
it shares a border of 250 kilometers (155 miles) with the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the east Kuwait has a coastline
of 250 kilometer in the Gulf area. Most of the Kuwait mainland
is flat sandy desert, having no mountains, rivers or any
natural features.
The
location of Kuwait in the Sahara geographical region,
dictates the weather of the country -- it is hot and dry
during summer, and cold and rainy in winter. Dust storms
in the middle of summer result from an increase in humidity.
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Kuwait
is a Muslim country and the official language of the country
is Arabic. Because Arabic is widely spoken throughout the
Middle East, there are many dialects of the language. In
Kuwait, Gulf dialect is spoken. For a long period of time,
Kuwait has been relied on for transportation between neighboring
countries.-- particularly Iraq, since Iraq does not have
access to ocean waters. Kuwait is smaller than the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia and the Republican of Iraq.
Kuwait
as I said earlier is a Muslim country. Most of the Arab
countries believe in Islam as their religion and Allah
as their God. Islam has been in the Arab peninsula for
thousands of years. The Muslim religion is monotheistic.
It was started in Mecca by the prophet Mohammed in 610
AD. Islam has been the religion of the Arab Countries.
Also Islam continued spreading to Egypt, Syria and Europe
even after the death of the prophet Mohammed, helped by
his friends Abu Bakr, Omar, Othoman and Ali the four Amirs
and Khalifas of the Islam. The prophet Mohammed was born
August 20, 570 and died June 632 AD.
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Significant
population growth in the country was not known until after
1957. According to some sources, the population was about
35,000 in 1910. Kuwait has grown since then. The population
in 1985 was just over 1.7 million. Currently, the population
of Kuwait is approximately 2.1 million. The current rate of
growth of the population is estimated at 4.5%.
Urban
growth is reflected in current physical, social and economic
conditions. Before the economic boom due to the oil industry,
in the forties, buildings were close together, separated
by narrow sand lanes and high walls. Following the economic
boom Shaikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, built suburbs beyond
the walls and along the coastline. The government continued
to expand the town of Kuwait. Plans were made to develop
the town of Kuwait into the metropolitan area it is today.
Housing projects were developed to accommodate the growth
in the population, creating between sixteen to seventeen
thousand homes per year
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Education
is the primary focus of the Kuwaiti people. Kuwait was the
first of the Gulf countries to start formal education in
1911 by building the first school Al-Mubarakiyya. It was
named after the Shaikh Mubarak ibn Sabah 2nd
ibn Jabir, the ruler of Kuwait from 1896-1915. Education
in Kuwait is free, offered to students by the government
in order to encourage them to continue their education.
The successful education program has reached a half a million
students in Kuwait. The schooling system consists of three
different stages of four years of education in each stage.
Therefore students receive 12 years of a general education.
The government started the private education program in
1967, because of the increasing number of the multinational
expatriates seeking work in Kuwait.
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Education
is also available in the religious institutions, and offers
in addition to religious teaching, different things like,
culture in foreign countries, science and language. The
religious institution only differs from other schools in
that it focuses on the religion teaching of Sharia of Islam.
Education
has had a big impact on the country's economy. People
who are more educated are more useful to the country than
people who are not, especially now that technology is
such a big factor in our lives. Education was the only
way to achieve the level of success shared by other successful
countries in the world. Kuwait today is different than
50 or 60-years ago in that its technology and education
have improved, but the culture and the tradition have
never changed because of the strong belief of Islam as
a religion and philosophy of living life.
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The
Kuwait economy is dependent on the oil industry, export,
and world investment. The oil industry is an important part
of the economy of Kuwait. Kuwait is one of the richest countries
in the world in oil and investment, especially for its size.
Because of the location of the country, Kuwait plays a significant
role in the Gulf. In August 2nd, 1990, the leader
of Iraq, Suddam Hussain started an invasion in my peaceful
country because of his interest in the oil industry and
the good location on the Gulf area. Those were two of the
reasons Suddam Hussain had to attack Kuwait. War could be
very damaging not just to the country of Kuwiat, but to
the economy of the world, since Kuwait owns investments
all around the world. Kuwait?s location in the Gulf region
makes it easy to use the Gulf area for transportation. Kuwait
Petroleum Corporation (KPC) continued its efforts in completing
and developing production, marketing, and administrative
structures in the 1980. KPC began implementing the biggest
oil industrial product by modernizing Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
This huge project took six-years to complete, cost KD 715
million, and is one of the world?s biggest refineries. This
refinery is capable or producing 270,000 bdp of the world
petroleum product.
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After
six-years of tedious work and a cost of KD 600 million,
the construction and modernization of the oil refinery in
Mina Abdullah was complete, making this refinery one of
the largest modern oil refining complexes with the latest
technology. Its refining capacity is 200,00bdp. This modernization
gave the KPC the capability and flexibility to confront
the changes of supply and demand in the international oil
market.
Due
to such modernization, Kuwait was able to export two thirds
of its oil as a high quality refined product rather than
as crude oil. its vast construction projects helped Kuwait
to develop their production of refined oil and so save
money and help the economy by avoiding tsale of crude
oil for low prices. Because of the size of the country
and the location, Kuwait depends on the oil industry.
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In
conclusion. Kuwait has been a country that has experienced
rapid growth in the past few decades. It has become a prosperous
and successful country. It has concentrated on education
in order to advance its country into the twenty-first century.
It has utilized its resources to make it one of the most
economically successful countries in the world. The culture
of Kuwait is celebrated by the growing population, who are
proud of their country and what they have achieved.
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