Introduction: Why Jeddah

A History of Jeddah

“…But we understood, that none except Mussulmans, are permitted to pass through the gate that opens towards Mecca, or even to approach it; and kept therefore carefully at a distance from that gate, least we might be discovered. 32 Niebuhr and his companions had donned local dress when visiting the Hijaz, which was considered quintessential Muslim territory. Mecca and Medina have long been considered spaces from which non-Muslims ought to be excluded.…”

“…At different times in history, this notion was extended to other localities of the Hijaz, most notably Mecca's port: Jeddah. 33 Perhaps their dress, and the fact that Russian and European Muslims visited regularly, might have made them stand 32 Niebuhr's description also contains an important spatial marker: the region of the eastern gate leading to Mecca as a place where non-Muslims were not tolerated. This links his description of the hospitality of the Jiddawis to the local image of Jeddah as the dihlīz of Mecca.…”

“…of maqʿad), which had the added advantage that they could oversee and direct everybody and everything coming in and out. 38 For Mecca, Abkar describes how servants and (male) children spent their time of rest and sometimes play in the dihlīz of the local houses. 39 Thus, the dihlīz, both as the reception hall, as well as in its function as thoroughfare to other groundfloor quarters such as the offices and reception rooms, storage spaces, and the staircase, was more a semipublic than a private space.…”

“…It can also help to think about the different actors and the repertoires which they developed to navigate and insert themselves into changing political and social environments. 62 The ambiguity of the local meaning of dihlīz also reminds us of the use of cosmopolitanism not as a moral good but as a vice endangering social cohesion and the nation. Politicians and scholars concerned with national identity and cohesion thus suspect cosmopolites of a lack of loyalty, reliability, and a clear identity.…”

“…108 The religious importance of the Hijaz as the holy land of Islam, the strong local power of the Emirs of Mecca, the physical distance from the Ottoman centre of power, the international connections, and a very diverse population with often multiple political affiliations, all influenced the ways in which local elites interacted with officials sent from the imperial centre and in which the Ottoman reform programme was implemented locally. 109 The different historical trajectories also meant that foreign attempts at intervention and at using foreign nationals as levers of influence played out somewhat differently, while in all cases resulting in enhanced efforts to clarify nationality, if possible by turning long-term residents into Ottomans (cf. Chapter 7).…”