Dissertation_Dr Faisal Almubarak

40
a number of rooms surrounding a covered courtyard, and (3) the Mashrabiyah House, with
its relatively multi-story structure containing a central courtyard, (4) the Q'ahah House, a
semi-detached, row-house with its unique latticed, projecting windows, usually found in
the coastal areas of west Saudi Arabia. Generally, the Q'ahah house form reflected the
internal arrangement of four covered rooms, delimiting a central open space, courtyard,
fina or semi-open hall, termed the durka'a. Doorways were deliberately placed so as to
avoid direct sight by neighbors and pedestrians. Family quarters may have a separate entry
and entry space (atfa or darb) usually opening on to a minor cul-de-sac and thence into the
public realm of the street. This conformation of the introverted house conformed to the
overriding sense of privacy, a major factor shaping the traditional physical built
environment.
Finally, circulation and public spaces in the traditional Muslim built environment
conformed to many factors except orthogonal organization of building cells and traffic
space. Circulation in the traditional Arab-Islamic physical environment has been secondary
to the built space, it was dominated by human scale rather than that of wheeled traffic. The
configuration of the circulation paths was the residual result of built up area. Typically,
residents conferred over the width and shape of traffic space once a resident decided to
expand his house. Circulation space comprised chief arteries, receiving major crowds from
the bustling center to the major gates and between major quarters. Secondary arteries led to
quarters, feeding the branching cul-de-sacs (darb) whose layouts were narrow and
meandering, deliberately built to inhibit intruding traffic. Cul-de-sacs represent the veins
that fed the residential "cells." Technological factors play in shaping the tree-like,
meandering traffic space. Galantay (1989) points to technological considerations such as
the usage of animal transportation and the lack of wheeled traffic in the design and
allocation of circulation space in (traditional) medina. Due to this technological constraint,
a town was essentially a walking one, encompassing a relatively small area of 1 to 3 square
kilometers.
III. THE ISLAMIC CITY MODEL: RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF
ISLAMIC URBANISM
Following Islam's precocious expansion, under Muslim rule, the Middle Eastern city
retained most of the prevailing architecture and city organization. The transformation of the
ancient Middle Eastern city to the Muslim city took centuries to complete. After a