Port City of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia):Architecture, Building Material Trade and Logistics in the Red Sea Region during the Ottoman Era from 16th-20th Century

该研究项目在沙特阿拉伯的历史古镇吉达(al-Balad)进行，旨在记录和调查16世纪初至20世纪初奥斯曼帝国时代的传统建筑、建筑材料、起源和物流过程。巴拉德今天仍然生机勃勃，人口稠密。老城现存200多座历史建筑，保存完好，值得研究。一些建筑成了一片废墟，而其中很大一部分仍然有人居住。2014年，巴拉德被联合国教科文组织列入世界遗产名录。然而，人们对奥斯曼帝国时代港口城市的发展历史和建筑的建筑史知之甚少。伊斯坦布尔的历史档案中有关于这些房屋的建造者和后来的业主的信息，但尚未进行分析。通过考古年代学调查，可以对建筑本身进行分析、确定年代并与档案信息进行比较。为此，将编制一份吉达历史建筑目录，以了解不同时代的建筑阶段，并为吉达各自的文化取向、社会结构和建筑技术提供证据。在红海地区，优质建筑木材严重短缺。然而，建筑商似乎对木结构有很高的认识，通过使用不同的国产和进口木质材料、工具和施工方法，这一点变得明显。尽管为采购建筑木材付出了巨大的努力，石材的质量也很差，但他们试图实施奥斯曼帝国的典型平面图和立面解决方案以及高度艺术性的设计细节。与建筑材料的贸易，部分来自北欧，为该地区的贸易联系开辟了新的场景，并允许在1861年苏伊士运河开放之前和之后对建筑业的文化影响。将在一个数据库中汇编吉达建筑的文件，其中涉及建筑历史，并特别侧重于建筑材料和建筑实体。因此，可以对奥斯曼帝国时代的城市发展和历史建筑的分类进行阐述。关于巴拉德遗产的系统和科学数据库也可能有助于该市今后的任何修复工作，确保历史物质的保护。

The research project in Jeddah, a historical town (al-Balad) in Saudi Arabia, aims at documenting and investigating the traditional architecture, the building materials, origin and logistic processes during the Ottoman Era from the early 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century. Al-Balad is still vibrant and densely populated today. More than 200 historical buildings exist in the Old City, which are in good condition to be studied. Some buildings lie in total ruins, while a great part of them are still inhabited. In 2014, al-Balad was listed by the UNESCO on the world heritage list. Yet, little is known about the development history of the port city during the Ottoman era and the architectural history of the buildings. Not yet analysed information on the builders and subsequent owners of the houses are available in the historical archives of Istanbul. Through archaeological dendrochronological investigations, the buildings themselves can be analysed, dated and compared with the archival information. For this purpose, a catalogue of the historical buildings of Jeddah will be created in order to understand the construction phases during different eras and to give evidence on the respective cultural orientation, social structure and building technology in Jeddah. There was a major shortage of high quality construction wood in the Red Sea region. Nevertheless, the builders seem to have had a high level of awareness regarding wood constructions, which becomes apparent through their use of different domestic and imported wood materials, tools and construction methods.Despite the enormous effort for the procurement of the construction wood and the poor quality of the stone material, they tried to implement the typical floor plan and façade solutions of the Ottoman Empire as well as highly artistic design details. The trade with building materials, partially from Northern Europe, opened up new scenarios for the trade connections in the region and allowed for cultural influences on the building industry before and after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1861. The documentation of Jeddah's buildings, with regard to the architectural history and with a particular focus on the building materials and constructive entities, will be compiled in a database. Hence, statements on the urban development and the classification of the historical architecture during the Ottoman era can be developed. The systematic and scientific database for the heritage of al-Balad may also help any future rehabilitation work in the city, ensuring the preservation of the historical substance.