A History of Jeddah: The Gateway to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Jeddah, known as 'ghayr' (different) in Saudi Arabia, serves as the historic gateway to Mecca, embodying a unique blend of Muslim conviviality and cultural identity. This study challenges traditional notions of cosmopolitanism by focusing on Jeddah's processes of living with difference, rather than strategies that reify hierarchies. It reveals how Jeddah's urban development, social structures, and governance have mediated belonging and foreignness, particularly in the context of pilgrimage and trade. The research employs a richly textured urban history approach, analyzing historical documents, population dynamics, and urban space to explore Jeddah's role as a Muslim city that balances roots and connections. It highlights the city's resistance to foreign intervention, its unique architectural and social functions, and the impact of modernization on its conviviality. The study also examines contemporary challenges, including the shift from pilgrimage as a material and social fabric to tourism, the increasing presence of the state, and the decline of communal donations and guilds in urban life.

Mills, A. (2021). A History of Jeddah: The Gateway to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Bustan: The Middle East Book Review, 12(1), 64–68. https://doi.org/10.5325/bustan.12.1.0064