Hijazi Architecture: Jeddah, Rawashin and the Red Sea City
Hijazi architecture is not one façade style repeated from Jeddah to Makkah, Madinah and Taif. The region includes a hot, humid coast, inland cities and cooler highlands, while construction resources, economies and patterns of movement also vary. A rigorous reading therefore begins with a particular place and building rather than a generic list of ornaments.
Historic Jeddah preserves the clearest surviving ensemble of Red Sea architecture in the Hijaz. Its importance does not make it a substitute for the whole region. Jeddah was a port city shaped by pilgrimage, trade, dense plots, streets, markets, work and hospitality. Comparing it with southern Saudi highland architecture shows why climate and topography must remain part of the analysis.
The Hijaz is a network of cities, not one template
Pilgrimage routes, commerce and population movement connect Hijazi cities, but historical connection does not mean identical architecture. Jeddah faced Red Sea humidity, salt exposure, port trade and pressure on land inside the walled city. Makkah and Madinah were organised around pilgrimage, religious institutions and housing, while Taif’s elevation created different environmental and material conditions. Street proportions, building heights and the role of markets also changed by city and period.
We therefore use “Hijazi architecture” as a geographic and historical frame for comparison, not as a claim that every house contains the same elements. Rawashin appeared in several Hijazi cities, yet Jeddah’s roshan tower house became a distinct urban type within the dense port city.
Jeddah: the port as an urban force
Jeddah had served as a maritime gateway to Makkah since the seventh century CE and later became a major link in Indian Ocean and Red Sea routes. Pilgrims and merchants arrived with goods, timber, craft knowledge and ideas. The result was not a copy of Egyptian, Levantine or East African architecture. Exchange was transformed by local construction, household life and the urban conditions of Jeddah.
The system reached one of its peaks in the second half of the nineteenth century as steam navigation expanded after the Suez Canal opened in 1869. UNESCO records tower houses built by mercantile elites alongside mosques, ribats, suqs and small public squares. When Historic Jeddah was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2014, the recognition concerned this complete urban ensemble rather than rawashin in isolation.
The roshan tower house corrects the courtyard assumption
Some accounts present the internal courtyard as a rule for every Hijazi dwelling. UNESCO’s record describes Jeddah’s roshan tower houses differently: they are outward-oriented and characteristically lack a courtyard. Rooms connect to the façade and street through rawashin, while height and openings structure the house without requiring a central open court.
Programme was part of this arrangement. Ground floors could support offices and commerce, while upper levels accommodated family life, guests or pilgrims. Some wealthy houses rose to seven storeys, but climate alone does not explain their height. Land value, mercantile wealth, household size and hospitality also contributed to the vertical organisation.
Coral masonry and timber as a building system
Historic Jeddah used coral masonry for walls and timber for openings, floors, roofs, rawashin and parts of the structural tying system. The combination reflects the city’s relationship to both coast and trade. Mineral material came from the Red Sea environment, while the port’s networks made suitable timber available for spans and fine joinery.
Material descriptions should not become absolute performance claims. Porous stone, timber and plaster all respond to moisture, salts, insects and movement between components, so conservation begins with the diagnosis of each building. Our article on conserving Saudi urban heritage explains why material and decay must be understood before an intervention is selected.
The roshan is an interior space and a public façade
A roshan is a projecting timber window or balcony that covers an exterior opening and may continue vertically across several floors. Its depth, latticework and operable shutters create layers between room and street. It filters light, limits direct views, offers a place to sit or observe, and allows portions to open for air. It belongs to the occupation of the room as much as to the composition of the façade.
A roshan does not, however, guarantee thermal comfort. Air movement depends on wind direction, pressure differences, the position of openings and an unobstructed path through the dwelling. In Jeddah’s humid climate, moving air may improve perceived comfort without removing humidity. This distinction between form and measured performance supports our wider critique of modern Saudi architecture: a familiar element cannot compensate for a building system that has not been tested.
Street, market and house form one system
Historic Jeddah’s houses are not isolated objects. Closely accumulated buildings, changing alley widths, timber projections, linear markets, mosques, ribats and small squares jointly shape shade, movement and social oversight. Traditional suqs ran between the sea and Makkah Gate, connecting the city’s form to its role as a port and reception point for pilgrims.
This relationship explains why a façade loses meaning when detached from its setting. A new timber screen on a wide, fully conditioned street is not equivalent to a roshan in a historic alley. Preserving a single house while losing its relationship to market and neighbours also preserves only part of the urban experience. Reading Islamic architecture through its institutions and cities reconnects form with programme, economy and circulation.
What can contemporary design transfer?
We do not begin by copying the ornament of a roshan. We first identify the problems it addressed: light, view, privacy, air and the depth of the boundary between inside and outside. Contemporary material, opening size, orientation, cleaning, fire safety and replaceable components can then be tested. The analysis may lead to a timber screen or to a different construction that performs the required roles honestly.
Within a historic fabric, the test expands to height, rhythm, street proportion, materials and maintenance. Outside Old Jeddah, the priority is not to claim authenticity but to build a credible relationship with climate, use and craft. In this way, Hijazi architecture becomes a body of knowledge that can develop rather than a catalogue of ready-made images.
Conclusion
Historic Jeddah’s distinction lies in the convergence of port trade, pilgrimage, coral masonry, timber, the roshan tower house and a dense urban fabric. Other Hijazi cities belong to the same wider historical network without repeating this model literally. Distinguishing region from city, and component from system, gives the heritage greater value for research, conservation and contemporary design.
