Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

171
and saucepans, wooden chests of tea or other foodstuffs, carpets and the like. The market
area also contained stalls where people would purchase hot tea or coffee. More commercial
exchange was transacted in the open space formed by the built area. Merchants and
craftsmen used their houses in which to conduct their occupations and transactions,
assigning an outside room for storage, production and exchange (Figure 6.3).
The town square was used for a variety of public functions including the housing of
Bedouin who, following the traditions, were allowed to camp for three days with free
subsistence. Although the green-belt of farmland surrounding the walled city seemed more
valuable than the mud complex, the city owned capital and political stock sufficient to
justify the defense system to protect its inhabitants from frequent outsiders' attacks. The
walled city also housed those working in guild crafts and the literate, who made their living
by teaching religious texts and writing skills. Finally, the walled town was distinctive for
its limited land use specialization. Multiple functions could be executed in a single space.
For example, the mosque served as a place for worship as well as a school and the
community gathering place. The shop, which was part of the merchant's residence, was
used for production tasks and also for exchange.
In addition to the busy core, there were seven major neighborhoods, hilal. 7 These
walled districts reinforced the segmentation of the major social groups comprising the
towns social composite. The dwellings faced inward to the quiet and cool courtyard,
presenting blank walls to the street. The relatively commodious, multipurpose and lightfilled
courtyard offered a microclimate of cool breeze and shade which contrasted with
scorching temperatures outside. The courtyard served several familia functions and
conformed to the social emphasis on privacy. This compact mass resembles a mosaic of
solid and void formed by shaded and open surfaces and built volumes, interspersed by
courtyards, and conformed to societal imperatives. At dusk, the city was sealed from the
outside world and town life was reduced to naught with the closure of the gates.
The traditional form reflected the emphasis on social factors of the population such as
kinship. For example, residents' concern over social ties explained the juxtaposition of
low-income and well-to-do households and the construction of smaller and larger houses
next to each other. In the absence of land speculation, land was perceived for its use value,
not exchange value, as a social resource and not a commodity. Ostentation was seldom
displayed by the few privileged families, reflecting the overriding sense of privacy in a