Desert Of Pharan

Unofficial Histories Behind the Mass Expansion of Makkah Through a series of photographs, Ahmed Mater charts the city's origins to its more recent history over the last 5 years. It is a study of the site's recent transformation -- Makkah, until recently, embodied a unique urban tapestry, layered with histories that are stitched together by an abundance of organically rooted communities and cultures. It is a place that accommodated not only sacred structures and sites but also huge fluctuations in population during Ramadan (up to 3 million visitors a year travel to Makkah for Eid and Hajj). More recently, these sites and communities have been eradicated and are being replaced with five-star-studded high rise developments, transforming it from an active metropolis to the world's most exclusive, yet most visited religious tourist destination, reflective of an unprecedented experimentation with architecture and its possible impact on social stratification. This photographic essay is a celebration of Makkah's real and projected or imaginary states. It provides singular access to this site and its associated social and religious rituals, along with its architectural urban planned and proposed development. AUTHOR: Ahmed Mater, born in 1979, grew up in Saudi Arabia. He led a young artist collective, was a founding member of Al-Miftaha Arts Village in Abha, and went on to co-founded the non-profit entity, Edge of Arabia. His work was exhibited in numerous international institutions and forms part of public and private art collections. 400 illustrations

This book tells the story of Saudi Arabia through my artists perspective. I am a doctor-turned-artist with a mission to confront with my traditional context, to explore Islamic culture in an era of globalization and to uncover the unofficial histories that have shaped the present. Mapping my journey between Abha, Jeddah, Mecca and Riyadh, this book is both a mid-career survey of my work and a prognosis of the changes forged by and in the Kingdom, and its significance in world religion, culture and geopolitics. From the year of my birth in 1979, when Islamic revolution reconfigured the region, my training as a community doctor on the Saudi/Yemeni border, my rise as the Gulf's most radical young artist, to my insider's role influencing national cultural policy, Prognosis is the story of my artistic journey into my society. In five chapters, Theocracy, Kingdom, Petrocultures, Cities and Mirage, the book incorporates photography, calligraphy, painting, installation and video, to reveal the complexities of Saudi Arabia in the context of wider global narratives. Beyond simple documentation, mine is an art of anthropology, politics, science and activism, tracing and recording the often-neglected histories that inform and structure contemporary life in Saudi Arabia. It is also an urgent prognosis of a society in dramatic transition.

This is the first full translation of Marino Sanudo Torsello's Secreta fidelium Crucis to be made into English. The work itself is a piece of crusading propaganda following the fall of Acre in 1291, written between 1300 and 1321, but it includes much of historical relevance along with interesting observations on the early history of Jerusalem and the Crusader Kingdom. The translation is based upon the text edited by Jacques Bongars in 1611. There is an introduction that contextualises the book, its author, his sources and his audience. The notes provide essential information to clarify internal textual references and allusions, as well as the role of Biblical references in Sanudo's grand design. The index is designed to make this detailed text usable and accessible. In this, his major work, Sanudo advocated the conquest of Egypt as the means to regain Jerusalem for the Latins and worked through his points with considerable detail alongside references to 13th-century Mediterranean history, especially involving Louis IX of France and Charles of Anjou, king of Naples. Books I and II give considerable detailed discussion of the concept, plan and costs of his proposed crusade. Book III provides an outline history of the crusades and the crusader states. It is derived from a wide-reading of other sources especially of William of Tyre, and, for events after 1184 on the Eracles, the letters of James of Vitry, and Sanudo's own experiences in the east. Throughout, the work contains a staggering amount of cartographical, ethnographical, geographical, and nautical information, as well as numerous unique insights into historical events and personalities of the late 13th century, not only in Outremer but in Western Europe.

The Unveiling Origin of Mecca provides insights into the history of Kaaba (Ka’ba) in Mecca. The Ka’ba is the first house built on earth. It is one of the few and perhaps the only Islamic History books that looks at modern archaeological evidence and the Holy Quran and the history of the Quran to explore the proper location of the Ka’ba. The author notes that in the Holy Quran, Mecca, sometimes also called Becca, which words are synonymous, and signify “a place of great intercourse,” is undoubtedly one of the most ancient cities in the world. Some authors imagine it to be the Mesa, or Mesha, of the Scripture and that it deduced its name from one of Ishmael’s sons. It stands in a stony and barren valley, surrounded by mountains under the exact parallel with the Macoraba of Ptolemy, and about 40 Arabian miles from the sea 'Al Kolzom. There is a magnificent temple in the city, like the Colosseum at Rome. However, it is not made of such large stones but burnt bricks and round in the same manner. It has ninety or one hundred doors around it and is arched...upon entering the temple you descend ten or twelve steps of marble, and here and there about the said entrance there stand men who sell jewels and nothing else. Researching ancient Islam and the origin of Mecca, the author asserts that the Ka’ba is currently misplaced, contradicting the Holy Quran and Arabian geography. Although there are many Islamic scholars and Quran research Institutes throughout the world, sadly, none of them have yet verified the exact places, mountains surrounding Ka’ba, and its sacred area according to the Holy Quran.

Islamic architecture has enriched design with a wide variety of structural shapes, including among others, unique arches, a wide variety of vaults and domes, which allow for new forms to be developed. This volume deals with the design of many types of buildings in Islamic countries, including not only the better known public buildings like mosques, mausoleums, citadels and forts, but also houses and gardens, engineering works such as bridges and dams, irrigation systems and many others which have also had a profound impact on society. There is much to learn from past experiences to arrive at solutions that are environmentally sound and sustainable in the long term. As conventional energy resources become scarce, the Islamic design heritage can offer invaluable lessons on how to deal in an efficient manner with cases of hard and extreme environments. Traditional architecture and urban environments in most Islamic countries are now being eroded by overemphasis on a global type of architecture and city planning. Consequently, many regions are losing their identity. The included research reviews these developments in the light of what the classical Islamic urban designs and architectures have to offer modern society.