The State of Kuwait is an Arab emirate at the northwestern end of the Persian Gulf. Formerly an autonomous district of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, Kuwait became a British protectorate after World War I. The protectorate was terminated in 1961 and the country has been independent since except for an occupation by Iraq in 1990-91. (Iraqi forces were ejected by Coalition forces in the First Gulf War.) Kuwait is densely populated; its population in 2022 was counted as 4.67 million. A note on nomenclature: the Persian Gulf (as it is usually known in the West) is called the Arabian Gulf in Arabia and the Gulf of Fars in Iran. The International Hydrographic Organization calls it the Gulf of Iran and many commentators avoid all nomenclatural problems by calling it simply "The Gulf". By whatever name the Gulf is a major center of shipping today, but that was not true until well into the 20th century. As a result only a few traditional lighthouses were built in the area. The Arabic word for a lighthouse is mnarh or manara (منارة). Ra's is the word for a cape or headland, jazīrat is an island, and minā is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Kuwaiti harbors are regulated by the Transportation Services division of the Ministry of Communications, but most likely they are maintained by the Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA). Many of the offshore navigational aids in the Gulf are maintained by the Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS), based in Bahrain. Special thanks to Ian Atkinson for information on the history of Arabian Gulf lights. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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![]() Jazīrat Maskān Light Station, Kuwait Bay, 2008 Creative Commons photo copyright Kuwaiti-Slovak Archeological Mission |
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![]() Jazīrat Umm al Namil Light, January 2018 Google Maps photo by Kh Kh |
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![]() Ra's al Ard Light, Kuwait City, August 2012 Google Maps photo by Naser Al-Eedan |
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Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Iraq | East: Southwestern Iran | South: Eastern Saudi Arabia
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Posted August 6, 2009. Checked and revised October 22, 2024. Lighthouses: 18. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.