Traditional Architecture of the Arabian Gulf: Building on Desert Tides

This book chronicles the florescence of architecture in the Arabian Gulf after the expulsion of the Portuguese in the early 1600s. It demonstrates how the power vacuum created by the collapse of Portuguese control over the trade routes in the Indian Ocean encouraged a growth in fortified architecture, especially in Oman, that radiated out to the surrounding region. It also shows how that architecture was slowly replaced by new patterns in domestic and public architecture and town planning throughout the Gulf as trade lines were secured and individual states moved towards new forms of governance. The book documents the building and crafts of this era and analyses them within the framework of the political, economic, and social information available through primary sources from the period in a way that is both intelligent and accessible. It considers the settlements as part of a larger-connected network of cities, towns and villages and focuses both on how the buildings provided innovative solutions to the demanding climate and yet incorporated new decorative and functional ideas.Topics are illustrated with photographs of the buildings as they are now, historic photographs from archival and museum collections, line drawings and computer-generated constructions. The book is therefore attractive to a number of different audiences such as people interested in architectural history, including those who live in or travel to the Gulf as well as people with an interest in Arab and Islamic design, culture and society, vernacular architecture, and post-colonial approaches to colonial history.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE. Shifting Sands: An Archaeological History of the Gulf Introduction; The Bronze Age; The Iron Age; The Hellenistic and Seleucid Gulf; The Late Pre-Islamic Period; Islam and the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates; The Late Medieval Period; The 18th Century; Conclusion CHAPTER TWO. Tribes, Trade and Empire: The Arabian Gulf in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries Introduction; Tribe; Trade; The Empires; Trade; Conclusion CHAPTER THREE. Mosques, Houses, Markets and Forts: Building Types in the Gulf Introduction; Domestic Architecture; Defensive Architecture; Religious and Public Architecture; Conclusion CHAPTER FOUR. Beach Stone and Palm Frond: Style and Material Introduction; Style and Time; Persian Influences; Builders; Materials; Conclusion CHAPTER FIVE. The Upper Gulf: Bridge Between Empires Introduction; Architecture by Locale; Conclusion CHAPTER SIX. The Central Gulf: Of Pearls and Dates Introduction; Architecture by Locale; Conclusion CHAPTER SEVEN. The Lower Gulf: A Varied Land Introduction; Persian Coast; Trucial Coast; The Central Trucial Coast; The Northern Emirates; Fujairah and the East Coast; Conclusion CHAPTER EIGHT. Oman: Gateway to the Gulf Introduction; The Sultanate of Oman; Inner Oman; Conclusion

About the Author :
Ronald Hawker is Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Design at Zayed University in Dubai. He has a PhD in Native American art from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and has written and spoken extensively about tribal art and architecture and the impact of modernity on tribal societies. He lived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for eleven years where he taught in the School of Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah and. He has traveled throughout the Gulf countries and Iran, documenting historic architecture. His research in the United Arab Emirates has integrated student and faculty participation in the documentation and digital reconstruction of tribal architecture and incorporates a multi-disciplinary approach, combining material and social history, ethnography, and new design media.