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

by Ulrike Freitag

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

404 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2020

Reviews

[آية · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book! It's an urban history of Jeddah in the 19th and 20th centuries, covering the infrastructural/architectural/socioeconomic changes happening in the city throughout the Ottoman Tanzimat era and the beginnings of the Saudi state. The chapters are organized topically, making use of oral histories and maps/city plans and newspapers to examine the various aspects of Jeddah: cultural (family life and social practices), economic (various guilds, marketplace practices and physical design, economic changes related to the hajj season), political (governors of Makkah and Jeddah, Ottoman rule, Saudi rule) and so on. Valuable resource for anyone studying the history of the hajj/Hijaz during this time period.

I found the discussion on Hijazi/Jiddawi identity and how this was influenced with the arrival of Najdis under Saudi rule to be particularly fascinating and important to the social fabric of the city today. The emphasis on the cosmopolitanism of Jeddah was also really fun to read about--as Makkah's port, it became a hub for Muslims (and some Christians!) from all over the world.

Only reason why I don't give it 5 stars is that it often felt like the author was repeating facts taken from the primary sources and I would've liked more of her analysis. She does provide some analysis but mostly towards the end. I do think we would've gotten a better picture of Jeddah's place in the world if there was more of a focus on the interactions/influences/connections between it and other places beyond the Arabian peninsula--like the Ottomans and British empires for example. Michael Low does this for Makkah nicely. However, I appreciate Freitag's choice to make it more of a bottom-up history, as in, one that emphasizes the role of the locals above that of governments. I also really respect all the research she put into this, as she forged connections and relationships with actual Hijaziz/Jiddawis in order to access their oral histories and family archives.

[Maha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“… every citizen’s history is important.”

[Sunny_Parakeet Alice]

Marked as read as a substitute for “One Thousand Laps of Jeddah” on Ao3 by In_in_in_in_in_in

I cannot get over it, and I never will, it is so good 23/20 stars. It’s so good, I love it and I cannot say it enough. Very happy to have it as the first book on my kindle.

[Jonathan Fryer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though written with academic rigour (and extensive footnotes) this is a highly readable account of Jeddah's development as a city with twin foci: trade and pilgrims. Fascinating material of life and the urban environment under the Ottomans, the Sharif of Mecca and then finally the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It remains the most relaxed and cosmopolitan of the Kingdom's cities -- and this book usefully sets out the reasons why.