A History of Jeddah
The Gate to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

'Drawing on a wealth of sources in many languages, Freitag's textured and compelling analysis succeeds brilliantly at showing Jeddah's unique position in a rapidly changing, interconnected world that spanned the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean region from the mid-nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. A must read.' Thomas Kuehn, Simon Fraser University

'Drawing on a dazzling array of sources in Arabic and other languages, this rich and brilliantly researched book offers a conceptually sophisticated history of a major Arabian port and the 'Gate to Mecca.' Dynamically interweaving the global, regional and the local, and with a nuanced sensitivity to insider and commoner dimensions, Freitag makes a phenomenal contribution to the study of urban cosmopolitanisms in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean worlds.' Jonathan Miran, Western Washington University

'An in-depth and lively history of Jeddah. With her command of both local and foreign literature and the use of an astonishing documentation, Ulrike Freitag make us dive into the history of Mecca's 'entrance' up to the present, and into the connecting point of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.' Philippe Pétriat, Panthéon-Sorbonne University

'Ulrike Freitag has given us a book that is as erudite and well-founded as it is interesting, even exciting, and which deserves to be disseminated beyond professional circles.' Alfred Schlicht, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung

'A History of Jeddah is based on careful and competent historiographical scholarship. It provides a comprehensive and analytical account of Jeddah's history and fills a significant void in the literature on Ottoman and Middle Eastern urban history, history of the Hijaz, and of port cities.' M. Talha Çiçek, Kadim