The Al Salam Palace (, Arabic for "

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

Palace") is a historic

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

located in

Shuwaikh Shuwaikh ( ar, الشويخ) is a seaside district of Kuwait City in Kuwait. It comprises eight blocks. Shuwaikh also has an industrial area, a port, a commercial area, a healthcare area and an education area; all of which form their own census-d ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. It was originally established as an idea envisioned by the late Amir Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in the late 1950s, when he aspired to build a special mansion for him and his family. To achieve that, the late Amir headed to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to search for a specialized architect who could turn his vision of the mansion into reality. He eventually commissioned architect Medhat Al-Abed, who designed a round-shaped palace with magnificent interior decorations. Al Salam Palace is part of the new

Kuwait National Cultural District The Kuwait National Cultural District (also known as the KNCD) is multi billion dollar development project that focuses on the arts and culture in Kuwait. With a capital cost of more than US$1 billion, the project is one of the largest cultural inve ...

(KNCD).

History

In 1960, during the reign of late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, construction works began for the palace's basic structure. However, in 1961 and after the official declaration of country's independence, some changes were made on the palace's residential plans due to the urgent need at that time for an official guesthouse for Kuwait's top visitors, including kings, presidents, and other prominent figures, in addition to a place to hold official and international conferences and meetings. Thus, the government decided to complete constructions for the spectacular building and transfer its ownership officially to the state. The palace was officially inaugurated in 1964, and received its first world leader guest in that same year. Around 166 world leaders have stayed at Al Salam Palace since its official opening, including the likes of the Shah of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

, former

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President Valery Giscard d’Estaing and

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and Diana, the Prince and Princess of

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. The palace, which total costs estimated nearly

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16.5 million, was characterized by its beautiful and luxurious facilities. Its fancy exterior round-shaped design reflected on its interior design, with its crystal chandeliers' lights visible through its windows, illuminating its superb vicinity at

beach for passersby to enjoy. Al Salam Palace continued to receive Kuwait's guests until 1990, when Iraq invaded the country, destroyed the palace and stole its contents. Afterwards, the palace faded into oblivion after the country's liberation in 1991, especially after handing over its role and missions to the newly built

Bayan Palace Bayan Palace ( ''Qaṣr Bayān'') is the main palace of the Emir of Kuwait. It is located in the Bayan area. History Bayan Palace was opened in 1986 to host the fifth conference of the Arab League. The palace also has an international conferenc ...

to host the country's guests. The palace stayed abandoned and neglected until 2013, when Sheikha Mona Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Head of Historic Documentation Center and the Amiri Diwan Libraries, proposed to restore the historic guesthouse and turn it into a museum that combines various time phases from the 300-year history of Kuwait. Combined Group Contracting has secured a KWD 39 million (

129 million) contract to carry out the renovation and reconstruction of the Al Salam Palace. Sheikha Mona's proposal received approval and encouragement by His Highness the Amir Sheikh

Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, الشيخ صباح الأحمد الجابر الصباح, translit=ash-Shaykh Sabāh al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; 16 June 192929 September 2020) was the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwa ...

, prompting the Amiri Diwan to carry out reconstruction of the palace until it was finally completed and officially inaugurated by His Highness the Amir on Monday, April 29, 2019. The newly restored building houses a collection of rare artifacts and preserve the national cultural heritage of Kuwait. It has been designed to suit the modern generation provided with the latest technological display methods to presents the history of Kuwait to visitors in a creative and innovative manner.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salam 2017 establishments in Kuwait Museums established in 2017 Buildings and structures in Kuwait City Palaces in Kuwait Museums in Kuwait History museums Cultural centers in Kuwait

History

See also

References

External links