Al-Qurain Martyrs' Museum

Located in the residential suburb of Qurain, a 20-minute taxi ride southeast of the city centre, this small museum is a memorial to a cell of young Kuwaiti patriots who tried to resist arrest in February 1991. Early in the morning, a minibus (the one that is still parked outside) drew up outside the house. When no-one answered the door, the Iraqis bombarded the house for hours with machine guns, bombs and eventually a tank.

Nine of those under siege were captured and tortured to death, while four hid in a roof space. General Schwarzkopf, who visited the house on 14 April 1994, commented that 'when I am in this house it makes me wish that we had come four days earlier then perhaps this tragedy would not have happened'. The Iraqi occupation lasted for seven long months, during which time many similar raids on the homes of Kuwait families were made: or, as the editor of a local publication put it, the Iraqi army 'was like a locust that ate both the green and the dry'. To understand what invasion meant to the ordinary Kuwait family, allow half an hour to visit this sobering museum, if only to see copies of documents issuing instructions to 'burn and destroy' homes and 'fire on demonstrations'. Bus 101 stops within a 10-minute walk of the museum, but it is difficult to find the precise location without assistance. Go by taxi.