Gizmodo has an interesting article on how most of the GCC countries are building railway systems. The article focuses mostly on Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE but Kuwait also makes a small appearance alongside Oman. Kuwait will most likely be the last on the list to get the rail system built if it ever actually gets built. Check out the article [Here]
87 replies on “How the Persian Gulf Is Quietly Building a Railroad Empire”
I like that it says Persian Gulf. Because it is and has always been.
The Arabian Gulf is actually what people call the Red Sea now. At least it used to be. Probably should be again, it’s more Arabian than it is Red.
Its called the Red Sea because of the color of the water when the red mountains are reflected upon it…
Its the Arabian Gulf.
You read much?
here we go again….
everyone has their own viewpoint and opinion, in the end we all know what body of water is being referred to!
It’s the Persian Gulf. The body of the water is called the Persian Gulf and has been called the Persian Gulf for more than 1,000 years. You can’t suddenly change the name of an ancient body of water.
Yes, Kuwait is Arab Gulf country. All the Gulf states are Arab Gulf countries.
But the body of water is ancient and has always been called the Persian Gulf. Iran has a bigger coastline than Arabian Peninsula.
Yes but we are in Kuwait, and the political stand of this country is to call that body of water Arabian Gulf. So we shall call it Arabian Gulf in our local publications, discussions, and formal foreign discussions as well.
Ok.
mhmmmm
I agree with some of what you said. But this: “Iran has a bigger coastline than Arabian Peninsula.” show me your source for that information.
Actually, anyone can call an ancient body of water anything they want… I suddenly want to call the Persian Gulf a puddle of poo, and the ancient country on its eastern shore the republic of poo. What are you going to do about it?
Yes, Iran is the Republic of Poo
What’s your point, exactly?
My point exactly, is that people can call anything whatever name they want. So, get over it.
its just water ok why do you care
Arabian Gulf for life, live with it.
Persian Gulf for life, live with it.
Qabazard, who are you? I’ve never seen you comment here before. Are you even Qabazard? or just hijacking someone elses name?
Qabazard, your last name says it all. A Kuwaiti with more allegiance to Iran than his own country.
@Aziz, why are you insulting Kuwaitis from persian origins?! This is exactly why I suspected his post and his name. In fact, I wouldn’t be too far off if this comment too was posted by the same person who posted under Qabazard name. trying to start something huh?
The majority of Persian Kuwaitis are more loyal to Kuwait than Iran, don’t incite bullshit for no reason (I’m not Persian if it matters)
This has nothing to do with politics. I support Kuwait in everything. If Kuwait went to war with Iran, I would immediately fight for Kuwait against Iran.
I am against Iranian government. I support the Arabian Gulf states in politics. I especially support Saudi Arabia in its stance against the dictatorial Iranian regime.
That body of water has been called the ”Persian Gulf” for more than 1,000 years. That’s the historical name, this has nothing to do with politics. You can’t suddenly change the name of an ancient body of water. Kuwait is obviously an Arabian Gulf state, I wrote this earlier in a previous comment. But the body of water has always been called the Persian Gulf.
The name of an ancient body of water is tied to history NOT politics.
@Qabazard, We don’t care about your loyalty or what you think That body of water should be called.
I think it is clear that your intention with this comment is to stir up some disagreement between fellow Kuwaitis. I have warned of this and clearly other people have taken the bate and fallen for your comment.
I am now questioning Mark’s intention as well with this… especially that we know he’s been in the UAE few weeks ago!
Anyway, I don’t want to enter into regional politics and frankly I don’t care much for the politics anyways.
All I know is one thing… You have to respect your country. That means, you have to respect its flag, its icons and its political stance. Especially in the current regional climate.
We know what the different names of the Gulf. We know who uses what. And we know what we have chosen to use. You insisting on calling it locally with a name that is almost non-existent locally raises questions about your intentions. Especially when we know that this has been a matter of political sensitivity recently even at local level.
So tell me again… why are you insisting and going into debate about the name? We know what you already know. We choose not to use that name for the reasons above… yet you insist on using it (which is fine by us and I never heard an official objection on citizens using it). Why are you doing this when it is clearly adding nothing other than provoking people… engaging people into racial discussion, and clearly starting hatred tone in some of the comments.
God bless the Arabian Gulf.
The Arabian Gulf, forever
Long live the ARABIAN Gulf
Khalas.
You need to stop jumping to conclusions. My allegiance is to Kuwait ONLY. I support Kuwait in everything. If Kuwait went to war with Iran, I would immediately fight for Kuwait against Iran.
You’re racist and presumptuous. I am against the Iranian government and will always support Kuwait in everything. The Persian Gulf is the name of an ancient body of water. The name of an ancient body of water has NOTHING to do with politics.
Stop being so racist.
you need to get a new parents to raise you all over again.
Aziz?
yes
not sure if you are western or Persian, either way..
if you were western i would say lets go name America what ever the red Indians called it, or maybe a Mexican name, mostly for the southern parts.
if you were Persian, they you most probably are a Muslim, and Arabic should be a source of pride as it is the Language of the Quran, thus you should be proud of it being named Arabian Gulf (regardless of Arab current Behavior if you are a true Muslim)
Rofl!!!! Go play with your lego’s
Yeah America would NEVER have a native american name, except for the fact that literally half of the states have Native American names:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_place_names_in_the_United_States_of_Native_American_origin#State_names
And countless city names besides that.
I notice you have West Bank in your name, that’s an English term applied to Palestine, which by your logic you shouldn’t be using.
i wonder how many natives are still there 😛
west-bank is more of a geo-name not an actual name 😛 same as Australia from australis
Yea Arabian Gulf, sounds better for a movie title: “Pirates of the Arabians” rofl.
Mio, read some history, and realize how different nations drew same maps from different perspective
Rofl im iranian i dont need to read about irans history! Ahwaz is a city IN iran and 5 percent of them speak arabic
I’m not Western or Iranian.
Khalas it’s the Arabian Gulf.
God bless the Arabian Gulf. Happy now?
Its called the Persian Gulf. You can call it what you want: Purple Gulf, Oil Gulf, Hot Gulf, Arabian Gulf, or any other made up name; its still known the world over as Persian Gulf. Changing the name amongst yourselves has no bearing on anything.
Gulf of Iran is more likely the technical name for it. Similar to the Gulf of Mexico.
Before islam reached persia it was controlled by persia … after islam reached Persia it was controlled by Arabs who had mostly Persians under them. So technically Persians took control of the gulf more that arabs
However it’s valid to note that arabic/ahwazi live on most of iran’s coastline.(they were an arab country similar to iraq before WW1).
Just call it the gulf.
Most of the people living in the Gulf coast of Iran are Lurs, Persians and Qashqais. The Arabic Ahwaz live in Khuzestan province, which is far away from the Iranian coast of the Gulf.
Only a few Arabs live in the coast.
Interesting that you say this and claim to be Qabazard. I am now convinced that you are impersonator and here to promote propaganda.
I say this, because Lurs are more like gypsies live in the north of Iran far… FAR away from the Gulf. They are formed of marriages between persians, kurds and iraqis. You should know this, because its your supposed origin. Qabazard, Al-Yosifi, Johar Hayat, Murad, Al-Ali and other families came from Lur (with all respect to families, this is common knowledge between Kuwaitis).
So I cannot but wonder again who are you really and what brought you here today to this post specifically?
Mark, change the title and delete those comments. Don’t you read the news nowadays?!!
I come from 3awath which is near Larestan .. we are no were near the coast
Lurs are primarily concentrated in Southern Iran, not the north of Iran.
Lurs occupy half of Boushehr province. Most people living in Boushehr are Lurs
https://www.geocurrents.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Iran-Wikipedia-Language-Map.png
Nearly half of Khuzestan province is mainly inhabited by Lurs https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Khuzistan_languages.jpg
Most people in Southern Iran are Persians and Lurs, not Arabs.
https://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Iran_Languages_lg.png
^ This map proves that most people in the Iranian coast aren’t Arabs.
Kuwaitis don’t need wikipedia or some Universities in America to tell them about the origins of their ancestors. There are many books written by reputable Kuwaitis from reputable families with will known and documented persian and arab origins. I suggest you read them considering the level of ignorance that you have.
I never mentioned anyone’s origins, stop putting words in my mouth.
The initial comment by Ahmad said the Arabic Ahwaz live in Iran’s Gulf coast and that ”Ahwaz” in the Gulf coast was a country before WW1 similar to Iraq.
That is not true. The Gulf coast is mostly inhabited by Persians and Lurs. There was never an ”Ahwaz country” in the Gulf coast.
Most Lurs live in Southern Iran, not the north of Iran – that’s a fact.
It is well known that most people living in Boushehr province are Lurs and Persians. Half of Khuzestan is also mostly inhabited by Lurs.
Lurs do live in the Gulf coast, you need to get your facts straight.
Stop insulting people for no reason.
According to your link, Ahwaz do overlook the gulf. you’re contradicting your self.
I’m not contradicting myself. Ahwaz doesn’t overlook the Gulf coast. Ahwaz is the name of a city located in the middle of Khuzestan province.
The Ahwazi Arabs live in Ahwaz city in the middle.
In the past, the western part of Khuzestan was a semi-independent Arab emirate but the eastern part of Khuzestan was always inhabited by Lurs + was ruled by Bakhtiari khans.
In overall, most people living in the Gulf coastline aren’t Ahwazi Arabs.
oh and by the way, according to your link too… Persians have very tinnny bit over looking the gulf. its tinner than the ahwaz coastline.
if you’re still confused, i’m talking about this link you provided https://www.geocurrents.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Iran-Wikipedia-Language-Map.png
Purple are Arabic speaking, which is most of the gulf coastline. Persian is a very tiny bit between the arabic purple and the ‘lorish’ green. Luristan, where Lurs come from, is north Ahwaz, far away from the gulf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorestan_Province
There are 6 million Lurs living in Iran, most of them don’t live in Lorestan. Lorestan’s total population is only 2 million.
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province near the Gulf coast is Lurs.
Lurs occupy nearly half of Khuzistan province and at least one third of Bushehr province.
Lurs inhabit all of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province and almost 50% of Khuzestan and one-third of Bushehr.
Source: https://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Lur-History-and-Cultural-Relations.html
Ahwaz is not a country ! Read more
Arabian Gulf
Will never happen.
Kuwait won’t finish their part and all the GCC will be connected asides from us.
2018? Yeh right
+1
It’s good you didn’t jump to the comments immediately after reading the title. /S
True.
Why?
Because Kuwait will remain a sovereign country. Do you think the promotion of this train line and gulf unity has anything to do with Iran or GCC economic cooperation?
I think the more we discuss this topic, the more we get drifted to the current political debates… the more likely some of us spend the coming months in interrogation or face deportation if were not nationals ;p
Persian Gulf forever.
Persia died out a long time ago. Get over it.
Ok Mr. 3eemi ;p
Most 3ayam call it the Arabian Gulf BTW. Only a few 3ayam think it should be called the ”persian gulf”.
I support Kuwait in everything. If Kuwait went to war with Iran, I would immediately fight for Kuwait against Iran. Kuwait is obviously an Arabian Gulf state, I mentioned this earlier in a previous comment.
The Persian Gulf is the name of an ancient body of water. That ancient body of water has always been called the Persian Gulf for more than 10,000 years. That’s the historical name. This has nothing to do with politics, the name of an ancient body of water is tied to history NOT politics.
Why not call it “The Persian Arab Gulf”?
first smart comment…but I bet you there will be a lot of people now thinking why not “The Arab Persian Gulf”
Let me make this simple and clear in the United Nations it has been official and labeled it the Persian Gulf.
If you have a complain, go to the U.N., the U.N even recognized Kuwait not too long a ago as a country.
So fighting back and fourth is useless, so for now it’s the Persian Gulf.
You have a problem with it, take it to the parliment of Kuwait all can vote fairly, and the vote will reach in end to the Crown Prince Shiekh Sabah Al Sabah and inshallah he will talk to the other Arab Gulf countries and they will join in one hand and take this problem to the International Law.
This is not for us to deal with but it’s best delt in a political hand and governmental issue.
Reading all the comments, just justifies and amplifies how far we will be when the new generation takes over the current generation, and needless to say the last comment on the article about Kuwait being the last stop.
How sad….
fact of the matter is, its the persian gulf. i can understand how people want to try to change it to the arabian gulf but thats not the real true name of it. both sides have arguments but legally speaking its the persian gulf. besides look what the war was called, persian gulf war.
whats really sad is while the whole world is building and progressing, out here in kuwait we are focusing on such trivial issues…arab gulf…persian gulf…we will never progress this way
The title should be: How the Persian Gulf is Quietly Building a Railroad Empire EXCEPT Kuwait. Your choice! Your future!
I can’t help but wonder how it (and the proposed metro) is going to be powered. We don’t have enough electricity for Farwaniyah, let alone a railroad and all its associated infrastructure!
Reading the comments, one can understand that a metro in Kuwait is impossible; a useless society consisting of people thinking just as the retards up here.
After reading the news, i thought everyone is discussing about the rail network for the whole GCC…………….. lol
If Arabs persist on calling it the Arabian Gulf, and it looks like they will persist, then it is only inevitable that a dual name will be used, like the English Channel/La Manche, Sea of Japan/East Sea.
Iran is fighting an uphill and a loosing battle in this matter. There is an increasing number of uses of the name “Arabian Gulf” especially by private entities, whose main goal is to keep the customer happy. So, if anyone thinks that the name “Arabian Gulf” will go away anytime soon, you are wasting your breath.
Lets just call it the gulf of Sindbad or Aladdin and everyone will be happy :))
Keep an eye on ever-entrepreneurial Tarek Essa Al-Sultan former co-founder of the Kuwait Free Trade Zone and the man behind the Agility empire. He has been quietly working on this concept for years. Agility has bought up storage facilities and land along proposed railway hubs. As soon as this project is close to conception, buy stocks in anything he touches…. watch.
yeah sure. he destroyed the kuwait free trade zone in so many ways. how is that a success? have u seen it or been there before? agility is an american franchise that he built up then got smashed by the use government for many illegal activities. how is that smart business? u must be an employee of the sultan gravy train.
The commenting here is just epic.
and most of it has nothing to do with why the rail lines will be delayed or if it will serve a greater purpose in any way in the near future.
you all can call it:
“kuwaiti coastline”
“iranian coastline”
“whatever coastline”
the waters in-between, call it “the sea between blah and bleh coastline”
What did u expect? there is a war going on in twitter for the past several months. Its at it peak right now… and now you’re dragging it here!
But that war is taking place in Arabic, probably thats why you’re left out of the loop ;/
epic for much advertising revenue ?
if my traffic double for a single day it doesn’t make a difference in my revenue.
plus does the traffic really matter? or is it the clicks on the advert? I cant recall when was the lat time I clicked on an advert link. I prefer your reviews.
its a combination
The minute I saw the title of this post I immediately checked the number of comments and boom, 85. I KNEW it was the Persian/Arabian Gulf never-ending dialogue.
Its about time that we have a connecting railway. The Ottomans built one 100 years ago from damascus to medina and it only took them several years. We should have a railway linking to at least mecca, and preferably to dubai. The surplus oil revenues are only going to last a few more years, after which mega-construction projects are going to unfortunately halt. We need to stop wasting money on 3 hour long fireworks and building height competitions, and focus on giving the future generations something that would be more useful.
At the time the Ottomans controlled that entire area themselves and didn’t have to deal with different governments.
FYI, I know of a local publication that got scrutinized by the local national security by mistakenly putting the persian gulf as opposed to the arabian gulf, in their printed map, and besides if people are bickering about the P or the A prior to the gulf, your political point of views just dictated how brain washed you can be, by all the political BS that you live in, live a little and enjoy life, might grow some brains one day you never know.
Both Texans and Mexicans have their issues, but I’ve never heard them arguing about the “Gulf of Mexico”.
That’s probably because few people are as petty and insecure as the Persian gulf Arabs. By that if course I mean the Arabs that live in the Persian gulf. Not Persian Arabs that live in the Persian gulf.
You’re Iranian?
Guys.
I’d like to start by apologizing for being so rude and condescending to everyone. Especially Qabazard.
I just a read book. It wasn’t propaganda written by a Kuwaiti or some other disappointed pan-Arabist. The Arabian Gulf was actually the Red Sea. My bad. And just because the body of water was named after the ancient people who inhabited it for millennia does not exclude me or my people from using it, sailing on it, overfishing it, or smothering the smothering the uncaught fish with sewage (poop and pee mixed together).
I really this whole crisi was created in the 1960s and 1970s before division within the arabstates destroyed that happy little experiament we had with power. Truly, the Arabian Gulf, however childish a notion it is to rename a body of water unilaterally, is all we have left. I just wanted it to last a little longer.
I realize this is an obvious troll. But it actually makes more sense that the real 3azeez.
Heheheh
Well.. It has always been called the Persian Gulf… Still is, according to Google maps