Al Ahmadi, Q8

In one of my earlier post I did talk about Ahmadi area. Jeet’s office is in this area and it takes nearly 20 minutes to reach this locality from our house. I often visit this area, as we normally go to Ahmadi Hospital when anyone of us fall sick; or take Mehr to the mini zoo or organize get-together at the Ahmadi park.

It is one of the six governorates of Kuwait. It is located in the southern part of the country and is famous in Kuwait for its greenery and British architecture. Al Ahmadi forms an important part of Kuwaiti economy as several of Kuwait's oil refineries are located here. Al Ahmadi is the home of several sporting clubs and complexes in Kuwait. The headquarters of Kuwait National Petroleum Company is located here. It is popularly known as the home of KOC (Kuwait Oil Company).

It was also home to several thousand mostly British Expats and their families from 1947 through to 1970, and possibly beyond. The original town layout was from an American pattern. Streets laid out at right angles to each other - 1st Street, 2nd Street and so on. The town was built on a slope facing the sea, which was about 7 miles (11 km) away. The street that ran across the top of the hill is called "main street". It houses the upper eschelons of the KOC. It ran down the hill in order of KOC rank. Within the town is the Hubara Club - a complex of buildings with a swimming pool, meeting rooms, restaurants, squash courts, tennis courts, library etc. Employees of the KOC would use this club every day to meet and chat. Their children and spouses also spent most of their time here. Towards the bottom of the 'hill' is the 'souk' or shopping area; banks; a mini zoo; parks; a cinema, which is now been closed down and a few shops.