Here are some pointers and information on travelling to Kuwait whether you are a US Military Soldier, DOD Civilian or a DOD Contractor.
Geography:
Kuwait is bordered to the north by Iraq, Saudi Arabia to the West and South and on the East Side, you have the Arabian Gulf. Kuwait is placed strategically at the Northern end of the Arabian Gulf and it covers 17,820 square kilometres this includes nine Islands, which are called, Failaka, Warba, Miskan, Oha, Kubbar, Qaruth, Um Al Maradem and Umm Al Tamil. Dating back to the Stone Age the island of Failaka has played a very important role in the history of Kuwait with settlements that can still be seen to this day.
History:
A country once controlled by a range of dynasties from Mesopotamia and Persia. From Persia came the Safavids around AD1500 and were very influential, they were responsible for establishing a powerful commercial empire along with the parts of the Eastern Arabian Peninsula which later became part of the Ottoman Empire from Turkey.
The British kept control of Kuwait until they gained independence in June 1961, but of course, since then the threat has always come from the North where Iraq considered that Kuwait belong to them.
Kuwait's large oil fields were very profitable and of course, its strategic location was always of interest to its neighbours to the North and despite Kuwait helping the Iraqis in the war against Iran in the early seventies ( to the amount of around $50m ), Iraq decided to invade Kuwait on the 2nd of Aug. 1990 under the leadership of Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqis terrorised and looted all before them and senior officials fled the country and did not return until coalition forces liberated Kuwait in 1991 after just about four days. This of course was known as Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Saddam should have learned his lesson then, but sadly not, he tried again in 2003 and the Second Gulf War began and he was defeated, this time he was captured sent for trial and was hanged. Reference Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Currency:
The currency used in Kuwait is the Kuwaiti Dinar.
One KD is equal to one thousand fils.
Monetary notes are issued in denominations of KD20, KD10, KD5, KD1, KD0.500 and KD0.250.
Coins are isued indenominations of 100fils, 50fils, 20fils, 10 fils and 5fils.
All major credit cards are accepted in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and car rental companies. Banks and money exchanges are everywhere in the city along with ATMs.
Hotels:
There are quite a few hotels in Kuwait city but they are not the cheapest in the world they certainly do look after their guests. Most of them have their own restaurants but because they don't allow alcohol in the country a nice bottle of wine is out of the question. When walking around you will find quite a lot of US Military personnel walking around the place but not in uniform. Tipping in Kuwait is entirely up to you but it's normally around 10% of the bill and it's very much appreciated by the staff - let's say they won't forget if you intend to stay around.
Health:
The hospitals are excellent and I would advise anyone going there if they feel the need to visit a clinic to go straight to the "International Clinic" telephone local 886677 or 5745111. I have been there myself and the service and care are second to none.
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