Historic Site · Kuwait City, Kuwait
Failaka Island
Failaka Island is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf.
Photo: ரோஜா via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and resized for display.
Landmark facts
| Location | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
|---|---|
| Type | Historic Site |
| Length | Length: 13.8 km |
| Coordinates | 29.4333° N, 48.3333° E |
Every fact above is taken from the sources listed below; anything no source states is left blank rather than guessed.
What Failaka Island is known for
Failaka Island is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf.
About Failaka Island
Failaka Island is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf. The island is 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf. Failaka Island is located 50 km southeast of the spot where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers empty into the Persian Gulf. For thousands of years, the island has been a strategic prize to control the lucrative trade that passed up and down the Persian Gulf.
History
Failaka was settled following 2000 BC after a drop in sea level. Failaka has been a strategic location since the rise of the Sumerian city-state of Ur during the third millennium BC. Mesopotamians first settled the island in 2000 BC. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business.
How to get there
| Nearest town | Kuwait City |
|---|---|
| Nearest airport | Kuwait International Airport (KWI) |
| Distance from the airport | 25.6 miles (straight line) |
Nearest major airport by straight-line distance from the landmark’s coordinates; road distance will be longer.
Airports near this landmark
The airports a visitor would actually fly into, nearest first — each link opens its profile on our sister site AirportProfiles.
- Kuwait International Airport (KWI) · Kuwait City, Kuwait · 26.2 miles away
- Abadan Ayatollah Jami International Airport (ABD) · Abadan, Iran · 64.9 miles away
- Basra International Airport (BSR) · Basra, Iraq · 86.9 miles away
Landmarks nearby
The closest landmarks in this library, by straight-line distance.
More landmarks in Kuwait
More historic sites
Frequently asked questions
What is Failaka Island?
Failaka Island is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf.
Where is Failaka Island located?
Failaka Island is in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Its coordinates are 29.4333° N, 48.3333° E.
How do I get to Failaka Island?
The nearest town is Kuwait City, and the nearest airport is Kuwait International Airport (KWI), about 25.6 miles away (straight line).
What is the history of Failaka Island?
Failaka was settled following 2000 BC after a drop in sea level. Failaka has been a strategic location since the rise of the Sumerian city-state of Ur during the third millennium BC.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failaka_Island — Wikipedia article — overview, history and core facts (CC BY-SA).
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1392962 — Wikidata — built year, architect, height/size, visitors, official website (CC0).
- https://github.com/jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports — Nearest major airport computed from landmark and airport coordinates (haversine); airport list: jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports.
Page last updated 13 November 2026.