Kuwait City: modern towers on the Persian Gulf

Rebuilt almost entirely after the Gulf War, Kuwait City combines futuristic skyscrapers with a waterfront that retraces the country's maritime history.

The center, with its modern towers on the Persian Gulf, requires a car to travel between more distant districts.

The Kuwait Towers, the architectural symbol of the country built in the seventies, combine the functions of water reservoir and rotating panoramic restaurant.

A few minutes away, the Kuwait Maritime Museum tells the story of pearl fishing, the country's main economic activity before oil was discovered.

Continuing along the coast you visit the Grand Mosque, Kuwait's largest mosque, capable of accommodating over ten thousand worshippers.

As evening approaches, the Souk Al-Mubarakiya, the city's historic market, displays spices, fabrics and traditional Kuwaiti street food.

Before the discovery of oil, Kuwait was for centuries one of the world's major pearl-fishing centers, with hundreds of vessels setting out every summer to the banks of the Persian Gulf.

The Kuwait Towers, standing up to one hundred eighty-seven meters tall, survived damaged during the 1990 Iraqi invasion and were restored as symbols of national post-war reconstruction, becoming the official image of the country.