Kuwait City (Arabic: ?????????? ??????????, transliteration: Madnat al-Kuwayt), is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. It has an estimated population of 63,600 (2006 estimate)[citation needed] within city limits and 2.38 million in the metropolitan area. Located at the heart of
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the country on the shore of the Persian Gulf, and containing Kuwait's parliament (Majlis Al-Umma), most governmental offices, the headquarters of most Kuwaiti corporations and banks, it is the indisputable political, cultural and economic center of the emirate. Kuwait City??s trade and transportation needs are served by Kuwait International Airport, Mina Al-Shuwaik (Shuwaik Port) and Mina al-Ahmadi (Ahmadi Port) 50 kilometers to the south, on the Persian Gulf coast. Kuwait City was first settled in the early 18th Century by the Al-Sabh clan, later the ruling family of Kuwait and a branch of the Al-Utb tribe (that also included the Al-Khalfah clan, the ruling family of Bahrain), and their leader, Sheikh Sabh I. Its name may have derived from an earlier abandoned fort located there, called Kt (????) - Arabic for a fortress by the sea. The settlement grew quickly, and by the time its first wall was built (1760), the town had its own dhow fleet of about 800 and trading relations to Baghdad and Damascus. It was a successful and thriving sea port by the early 19th Century. It was unclear whether or not Kuwait was part of the Ottoman Empire, and as a result, tensions often broke out between the sheikhdom and the empire. These tensions peaked when, in 1896, Sheikh Mubrak Al-Sabh assassinated his brother, the emir Muhammad Al-Sabh, over Mubrak's deep suspicion that the Ottoman Empire was willing to annex Kuwait. In exchange for British naval protection, Mubrak was not to negotiate or give territory to any other foreign power without British consent. With the discovery of oil in 1936, the city??s standard of living improved dramatically, including health and education services. In August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces seized the city and on August 8 they annexed the emirate. During the occupation, the city was extensively damaged and many buildings were destroyed after it, including the Kuwait National Museum. After Iraqi forces retreated from Kuwait in January-February 1991, foreign investors and the Kuwaiti government were actively involved in modernizing the city and turning it into a world-class business hub. Many hotels, shopping malls and offices were built in the city indicating the economic growth since the war.
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