Historic Jeddah as a Unique Islamic City

• Main Author: Omer, Spahic
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Press 2021
• Subjects: Islamic art and architecture
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/90354/1/90354_Historic%20Jeddah%20as%20a%20Unique%20Islamic%20City.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/90354/; https://journals.iium.edu.my/irkh/index.php/ijrcs/article/view/186

This article attempts to discuss historic Jeddah as a unique Islamic city. The focus is on the city’s rich history, its cosmopolitan character, its status as the gateway to Makkah, and its distinctive architecture. The goal of the article is to enrich discourses on Islamic urbanism and architecture. The article finds out that historic Jeddah’s morphology successfully met all the imposed environmental, socio-economic, cultural and religious requirements. The natural surroundings, the people and built environment were ingeniously integrated into an invigorating and vastly enriching urban as well as civilizational environment, which, even though relatable to time, space, styles and typologies, surpassed them all.