To the origins
The first site in the country to be inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List, the archaeological site ofHegra (Al-Hijr) is the most important witness of the Nabatean civilization after the site of Petra in Jordan. The Nabataeans are famous for their monumental tombs carved directly into the sandstone. Masters in the art of using the sun's reflection on the rock to reveal an infinite variety of tones, the Nabataeans also developed an astonishing sense of decoration, mixing their own creations with motifs and symbols borrowed from other cultures. Look at the monumental porticoes of Hellenistic inspiration; the Merlons or Mesopotamian redans; or the pyramidal structures reminiscent of Egypt. The tomb of Lihyan, son of Kuza, is one of the most famous tombs on the site. The Nabataeans also showed an innate sense of hydraulic engineering, digging hundreds of wells in the valley. A mastery of water that can be found in the incredible oases of the country. Occupied for thousands of years, the archaeological area of the ancient oasis Qaryat Al-Faw is incredibly rich. How can one not be impressed by its amazing tapered stone structures with triangular or circular silhouettes adorned with rock carvings and associated with tombs and cairns? The oasis also shelters the vestiges of a perfectly coherent urbanism separating residential, commercial (souks), and religious zones. The latter includes a fascinating necropolis whose tower-tombs reflect the social hierarchy of the time, the elites being built imposing tombs... as well as vast residences, some of which have preserved beautiful decorative frescoes. Further north, the country is home to incredible fortified oases with a thousand year old history. For researchers, these fortifications illustrate the transition from a temperate climate to an arid and desert climate requiring increased protection of springs and crops. Designed to protect against enemy raids, these fortifications were also designed to protect against the assaults of this hostile climate. With its castle built in stone and surrounded by nearly 15 wells, the deepest of which could reach 40 m (some even have staircases built into their masonry), its clear urban "zoning" composed of stone buildings and earthen houses bordering narrow shaded alleys, the site of Dumat Al-Jandal is particularly striking. Most often built on high ground, these fortified silhouettes were unmistakable from the trade routes... such as those marking the cultural area of Hima. Punctuated with cairns, burials, wells, but also toll booths and urban settlements from which emerge imposing caravanserais with a fortress-like appearance, surrounded by high walls and arranged around a central courtyard, these caravan routes still retain a legendary aura.
A unique architecture
In the Aseer region, the Heritage Village of Rijal Almaa is home to some very special multi-story homes that resemble forts. Made of local natural stone, often highlighted with a brilliant white quartz, clay and wood (especially for the balconies), these "palaces" give the village the appearance of a fortified city. In the Al Baha region, the Heritage Village of Zee Ain houses 2 to 4 storey houses made of polished stone, with impressively thick load-bearing walls, a wooden frame system covered with stones, themselves protected with mud to reinforce insulation, and vast rooms lined with stone columns. The old cities of Riyadh, Dariya, and Khobar, as well as the village of Ushaiqer, bear witness to the structural and stylistic richness of Naji architecture. It is an earthen architecture entirely based on the principles of harmony and coherence. Zones and districts are divided according to their functions and the private/public balance is respected everywhere. To grasp the richness of this architecture, one must wander through the labyrinth of alleys lined with amazing houses. The first key element is the entrance door (al-bab) whose degree of decorative refinement testifies to the importance of the owner. Wood and metal work, floral, geometric or calligraphic motifs, these doors can be true works of art. Now, look at the exterior walls, you will probably see small elements of wood or adobe slightly protruding and pierced, in their lowest part, with small holes. In the shape of a semi-circle, square or triangle, these elements allow you to see without being seen. They are called tarma, the equivalent of our eyelets or peepholes. If you look up, you will discover the alfuraj, small triangle-shaped openings, placed at the top of the walls, which provide light and ventilation while respecting the privacy of the home. The patterns created by their alignments break the massiveness and monotony of the exterior walls. The shuraf crown these harmonious earthen buildings. Made of adobe bricks, covered with local gypsum and painted in white plaster (as much to decorate as to protect from the rain), these gables can be of various shapes but their tops must always point to the sky. Elegant extensions of the roof, they offer shade and coolness to the vast roof terraces of the houses. In the desert coastal plain of Tihama, it is not uncommon to come across round houses made of a structure of reeds and mud plaster and covered with a thatched roof. An architecture that testifies to the passage of pilgrims and African traders in the region. In the rest of the coastal areas, the walls of the houses were made of fossilized coral. The sublime and unclassifiable historic city of Jeddah, the Gateway to Mecca, has been able to blend these coastal traditions with other techniques and skills. The most beautiful examples of this blend are the city's tower-houses, which can be recognized by their coral stone silhouettes and their facades decorated with sumptuous carved wooden pieces that protrude slightly, reminiscent of elegant moucharabiehs. Jeddah is also home to some fine examples of more recent Ottoman houses that can be recognized by their large bay windows, bow windows, raised bases and the cutting of their facades.
Architecture of Islam
Many scholars and theologians believe that the very first mosque in Medina was actually the house of the Prophet Muhammad. While nothing has survived of the building, many ancient sources have described it. Made of dried bricks, the building was square in plan, with each side measuring about 56 m. Nine rooms were built along the eastern wall and opened towards the interior; while short colonnades made of palm trunks were added to the north and south, whose extended branches provided shade and coolness. Finally, the most important element: the orientation of the prayer passed from Jerusalem to Mecca. This simplicity and sobriety drew the contours of the first Islamic architecture that was repeated throughout the Muslim world. A sobriety that can be seen in the Jawatha Mosque in Al-Ahsa, built in the seventh century, and probably the oldest in the peninsula. Look at its simple and unadorned mud brick walls, its low towers with rounded battlements, its imposing wooden door and its thatched roof. But as the centuries passed, this sobriety was abandoned in favor of more imposing and decorative structures, especially in the Ottoman period. The Prophet's Mosque in Medina is a perfect example. The enclosure of the present mosque is 100 times larger than that of the original house of the Prophet! The interweaving of the structures is astonishing. The contemporary mosque, all in white marble, surrounds the Ottoman mosque which has kept its decorations of marble and polychrome stones, its white marble columns with bases pierced by ventilation grids, its arcades with alternating white and black stones over the windows, and especially its green-grey dome and its thin and slender minarets. A juxtaposition of eras that can be found in the Al-Haram Mosque, the largest mosque in Mecca and the setting of the Kaaba. It is fascinating to note that the Kaaba, a seventh century building, has retained a certain sobriety with its square granite structure, its thick, bare walls that highlight its imposing wooden door plated with 280 kg of pure gold, while all around the Mosque unfolds an astonishing gigantism. In the Ottoman era, it was the great architect Sinan who added golden domes with calligraphy-adorned vaults, columns, slender minarets and superb marble pavements. From the 1950s, the mosque enters new phases of transformation with extensions in reinforced concrete, the addition of minarets, decorated domes and coffered ceilings, the creation of new decorations all in artificial stone, plaster and marble plywood, and the installation of a modern air conditioning system designed to cool the two million pilgrims that the new structure must be able to accommodate. A desire to impress can be seen in two more recent mosques: the Mosque of Mercy in Jeddah (1985), also called "floating mosque" because its bright white structure topped by elegant turquoise domes seems to advance on the water; and the Al-Rahji Mosque in Haifa (2010) with its four 80-meter high minarets and its 50 vermilion domes cascading down. But mosques are not the only representatives of this architecture of Islam. Saudi Arabia is also crisscrossed by the many roads of the Hajj, the pilgrimage leading the faithful to Mecca. These roads are lined with forts ensuring not only the protection of pilgrims, but also and especially those of springs, basins, cisterns and water tanks. With a square plan, organized around vast courtyards, these fortresses impress by their massiveness, reinforced by the presence of protective ramparts. In addition to this, there are more modest lodgings, while the flagship "stations" of the pilgrimage are authentic small towns with mosques and souks. On the road linking the Iraqi city of Kufa to Mecca, sections of paved roads and parts of roads protected by small walls made of large stacked stones have also been found, proving the importance of this pilgrimage route and the engineering treasures developed to fight against a hostile environment. A sense of engineering found in the Ottomans who, in the early 20th century, designed the Hejaz Railway. Nearly 2,000 bridges made of rough local stone were built, while every 20 km stations were built, organized in the manner of the original pilgrimage stations with fortifications, wells, cisterns and caravanserais. The Hajj still inspires contemporary architects, such as Mahmoud Bodo Rasch, a German architect who converted to Islam, who designed the astonishing structure of 250 parasols, each covering an area of 625m2, protecting the pilgrims in Medina.
Contemporary Saudi Arabia
The discovery of the oil fields led to an unprecedented construction boom in the country. In the 1970s, the desert saw the emergence of new towns and imposing petrochemical complexes everywhere. At the time, Saudi citizens were even given free land to build on. Skyscrapers were also being built. The most famous of this period is undoubtedly the National Trade Bank of Jeddah designed by the American agency SOM. Its V-shaped silhouette flanked by helical parking lots did not go unnoticed. A forced urbanization that has also forced many Bedouins to settle down. In the early 1990s, a project was set up to build houses, schools and mosques. Made of local volcanic rock, these constructions were thought to be feasible at a lower cost by the local populations... but the project was unfortunately quickly abandoned. Faced with the constant influx of pilgrims, Mecca has been the object of all the attention, undergoing intense transformations, started in the 1970s with the creation of the Gate of Mecca, a monumental arch representing a lectern. The construction of a boulevard 80 meters wide and 4 kilometers long, the creation of new neighborhoods, the construction of the Abraj Al Bait complex including the famous Clock Tower overlooking the city from its 601 meters: these transformations have led to the destruction of two thirds of the historic city. In 2016, Crown Prince MBS launched his Vision 2030 plan. Objective? To open the country to tourism in particular. The craziest structures are emerging, starting with amazing cultural and scientific centers, such as : the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran, with its 18-meter tower of knowledge and its structure covered with 350 km of stainless steel tubes designed by the Snøhetta agency; the Maraya cultural center in Al-Ula, whose name, meaning mirror, refers to the 9,740m2 of mirrors covering its silhouette; or the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center in Riyadh, for which the Zaha Hadid agency was inspired by the structure of beehives. Skyscrapers continue to climb to the top, such as the 1,000-meter-high Kingdom Tower or Jeddah Tower, which should be inaugurated soon. Another planned inauguration is the Riyadh metro, whose main stations will be designed by Zaha Hadid, Snøhetta and Gerber Architeckten. And the country is not planning to stop there: The Line / Neom, a vertical city 500 meters high and 170 kilometers long with the appearance of a spaceship; The Red Sea Development, with its marinas, artificial beaches and hotel complexes, some of which will be designed by Norman Foster (who also drew up the plans for the Al Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh) or Kengo Kuma; and the vast Al-Ula archeological zone project, with the creation of new urban centers and hotel complexes, including a project for villas carved out of the rock by Jean Nouvel.
