Saudi Arabia
Historic Jeddah
Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah, has been a major port for both tradesmen and pilgrims.
Located at the Red Sea shore, it was in a favourable position for Indian Ocean trade routes, especially since the construction of the Suez Canal. Also, over 100,000 pilgrims arrive here yearly for their pilgrimage to Mecca. In the historic town, most of the remaining old buildings date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Notable are the typical Roshan Tower houses and Ribats, fortified lodges for merchants and pilgrims.
Community Perspective: The “tower houses” are the main attraction here and of those the Al-Naseef House can be visited as it is a museum. Solivagant and Martina visited 20 years apart but have similar things to say about the site's overall condition and position within the sprawling city.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah (ID: 1361)
- Country
- Saudi Arabia
- Status
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Inscribed 2014
Site history
History of Historic Jeddah
- 2014: Advisory Body overruled
- ICOMOS recommended Deferral, overturned by the WHC on basis of an Amendment by Turkey
- 2014: Revision
- includes former TWHS Al-Akhdar Palace and Al-Mi'mar Mosque both 1988
- 2014: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- 2010: Requested by State Party to not be examined
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- ii
- iv
- vi
Links
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- visitsaudi.com — Visit Saudi: Jeddah
News Article
- Aug. 17, 2017 dawn.com — Fire destroys buildings in Saudi Unesco heritage site
Community Information
- Community Category
- Urban landscape: Arabic and Middle Eastern
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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James Bruce
After an extensive navigation of the Re… -
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
After crossing the Red Sea, he entered … -
Sir Richard Francis Burton
Returned to Jeddah after his pilgrimage…
Connections of Historic Jeddah
- Individual People
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Ibn Battuta
"Following the pilgrimage of the year 730, I set out from Mecca (God Most High ennoble her) intending to travel to the land of al-Yaman, and came to Juddah [Jeddah], an old town on the sea coast, which is said to have been founded by the Persians." -
Sir Richard Francis Burton
Returned to Jeddah after his pilgrimage to Mecca -
James Bruce
After an extensive navigation of the Red Sea in a local vessel, Bruce reached Jidda in May 1769. (wiki) -
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt
After crossing the Red Sea, he entered Jeddah on 18 July 1814 and became sick with dysentery for the first time in his travels. (wiki)
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- History
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Ottoman Empire
from 1517 to 1916
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- Architecture
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Coral Masonry
coastal coral building traditions (AB ev) -
Vernacular architecture
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- Damaged
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Cultural sites damaged by fire since inscription
6 historic buildings damaged in August 2017See www.arabnews.com
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- Religion and Belief
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Notable mosques
Nine historic mosques are in the nominated area. The two most important surviving mosques architecturally are Masjid ash-Shafe -
Pilgrimage route
"Historic Jeddah had a symbolic role as a gate to Makkah for Muslim pilgrims reaching Arabia by boat since the 7th century AH when the 3rd Caliph Othman ibn Affan made it the official port of Makkah." (Official description)
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- Human Activity
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Incense Route
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Sea Ports
"Jeddah thus began to develop as a prosperous Red Sea port." (AB ev)
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- Constructions
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Tower-houses
"Jeddah’s Roshan tower houses are an outstanding example of a typology of buildings unique within the Arab and Moslem world." (Crit iv)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 19th Century
Most of the remaining historic buildings date from the 19th century
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- WHS Names
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Epic Subtitles
the Gate to Makkah
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News
- dawn.com 08/17/2017
- Fire destroys buildings in Saudi U…
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Historic Jeddah
- Adrian Turtschi
- Afshin Iranpour
- Alessandro Votta
- Alexander Barabanov
- Alexander Lehmann
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Ammon Watkins
- Artur Anuszewski
- Ask Gudmundsen
- Atila Ege
- Bill Maurmann
- Bram de Bruin
- Christoph
- Christravelblog
- CugelVance
- Dorejd
- DouglasR
- Dutchnick
- Els Slots
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fan Yibo
- farikica
- Feldhase
- Fernweh
- Fmaiolo@yahoo.com
- George Gdanski
- Hanming
- Harald T.
- Harry Mitsidis
- Ivan Rucek
- Izzet Ege
- Janos
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- jballard650
- Jean Lecaillon
- John Smaranda
- Jon Opol
- Joshuakirbens
- Krijn
- liu tuo
- Loic Pedras
- Ludvan
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Maciej Gil
- Maciej Gowin
- Malgorzata Kopczynska
- marcel staron
- Marcobrey
- Martina Rúčková
- Michael Novins
- michaelsballard
- Michal Marciniak
- Mihai Dascalu
- Mikko
- Naim Y
- Nick Kuzmyak
- PabloNorte
- Paolo ZaK
- PeterA
- Petri Jurescu
- Philipp Leu
- Philipp Peterer
- Piotr Wasil
- Qin Xie
- Rahelka
- Randi Thomsen
- Reisedachs
- Riomussafer
- Roger Ourset
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Rvieira
- Sascha Grabow
- SHIHE HUANG
- Solivagant
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Svein Elias
- Szabolcs Mosonyi
- Szucs Tamas
- Tarquinio_Superbo
- Thomas Buechler
- Tony H.
- Vanessa Buechler
- Westwards
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Yongcheng Liu
- Zach
- Zoë Sheng