A history of Jeddah : the gate to Mecca in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Known as the 'Gate to Mecca' or 'Bride of the Red Sea', Jeddah has been a gateway for pilgrims travelling to Mecca and Medina and a station for international trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean for centuries. Seen from the perspective of its diverse population, this first biography of Jeddah traces the city's urban history and cosmopolitanism from the late Ottoman period to its present-day claim to multiculturalism, within the conservative environment of the Arabian Peninsula. Contextualising Jeddah with developments in the wider Muslim world, Ulrike Freitag investigates how different groups of migrants interacted in a changing urban space and how their economic activities influenced the political framework of the city. Richly illustrated, this study reveals how the transformation of Jeddah's urban space, population and politics has been indicative of changes in the wider Arab and Red Sea region, re-evaluating its place in the Middle East at a time when both its cosmopolitan practices and old city are changing dramatically against a backdrop of modernisation and Saudi nation-building. "Jeddah was characterised bv a cosmopolitan population, resulting from the city's close connection to maritime trade and its function as the port of Mecca, the holymost city of Islam. Locally, this was conceptualised as the responsibility of hospitality for the guests of God. The study traces different groups of migrants and follows their integration into the city's evolving urban fabric from the late Ottoman to early Saudi period. Its focus are the social, professional and religious institutions ordering life in the city and allowing newcomers to establish themselves. With increasing Western attempts to control the pilgrimage and establish their influence, the Ottoman authorities tightened immigration rules. However, only Saudi Arabian modernisation and large scale labour immigration fundamentally altered the immigration regime. The clear boundaries between nationals and foreigners increasingly limited possibilities for social integration. This notwithstanding, the history of hospitality, in connection with the urban space of old Jeddah, has become a key component of local pride and identity"-- Provided by publisher 01.0_pp_i_ii_A_History_of_Jeddah 02.0_pp_iii_iii_A_History_of_Jeddah 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 04.0_pp_v_vi_maps 05.0_pp_vii_vii_Contents 06.0_pp_viii_ix_Figures 07.0_pp_x_x_Maps 08.0_pp_xi_xi_Tables 09.0_pp_xii_xv_Acknowledgements 10.0_pp_xvi_xvi_Note_on_Transliteration_and_Terminology 11.0_pp_1_39_Introduction_Why_Jeddah 12.0_pp_40_83_Between_Sea_and_Land_Jeddah_through_the_Ages 13.0_pp_84_112_The_Changing_Faces_of_Jeddah 14.0_pp_113_158_The_Changing_Urban_Space_of_Jeddah 15.0_pp_159_217_Solidarity_and_Competition_The_Socio-Cultural_Foundations_of_Life_in_Jeddah 16.0_pp_218_270_The_Economic_Lifelines_of_Jeddah_Trade_and_Pilgrimage 17.0_pp_271_327_Governing_and_Regulating_Diversity_Urban_Government_in_Jeddah 18.0_pp_328_344_The_Disappearance_and_Return_of_Old_Jeddah_On_the_Temporality_of_Translocal_Relations 19.0_pp_345_378_Bibliography 20.0_pp_379_392_Index