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Red sea city : images of the Jeddah urbanisation : an exhibition of photographs

University of Durham. Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

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University of Durham. Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies



Abstract

If one were to accept the majority opinion ofthe early and mediaevel geographers and scholars , the correct Arabic form for the name of the town would be Juddah, signifying 'sea-shore', as well as 'way' , 'beaten track'. A minority of these prefer Jiddah (which would have much the same meaning as Juddah above) and Jaddah ('grandmother'), the latter because of the presence of what was believed to be the tomb of Eve in the town. Jeddah was undoubtedly in existence before the coming of Islam in the seventh century. Indeed it appears to have been the home of a number of pre-Islamic idols which were later transported to Mecca. A part from this role as a centre of idolatry, however, we know nothing of the pre-Islamic town. In 2/646 the third caliph, Uthman (caliph 2436/ 644-56), selected Jeddah as the official port of Mecca in place of al-Shuaybah, an older port situated to the south of Jeddah. Thus, as the importance of Mecca grew in Islam, so too did that of Jeddah through which its considerable imports from the east, India, and west, Egypt, passed.

Citation

University of Durham. Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. (1983). Red sea city : images of the Jeddah urbanisation : an exhibition of photographs

Report Type Discussion Paper
Publication Date 1983
Deposit Date Feb 20, 2013
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Publisher URL http://www.dur.ac.uk/sgia/imeis/

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