Traditional Architecture of the Persian Gulf: New Book Beautifully Documents the History and Culture of the Region

The Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf, is an area of the globe that has a fascinating history, one that is not only culturally intertwined with the environment, but that is also physically tied to it. Unlike many other parts of the world where the resources are abundant, allowing the culture to develop in a manner free of environmental constraints, in the Persian Gulf the cultures that have developed have been directly shaped by the region’s environment. This environmental influence on the cultures and peoples of the Persian Gulf is perhaps reflected in no better way then through the traditional architecture of the region. In a stunningly comprehensive and photographically rich book, Professor Ronald Hawker has brought this long and complex intertwining of culture and environment to light.

Traditional Architecture Of Arabian Gulf: Building a Desert Tides chronicles the florescence of architecture in the Persian Gulf after the expulsion of the Portuguese in the early 1600s. Documenting the building and crafts of this era, Ronald Hawker expertly analyzes the change in Persian Gulf architecture within a larger framework of political, economic, and social information. Relying on primary sources from the period, including well over 100 photographs, this book provides an intelligent and accessible study of this region.

The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes referred to as the Arabian Gulf by certain Arab countries or simply The Gulf, although neither of the latter two terms are commonly used in the U.S. Ronald Hawker uses the term Arabian Gulf throughout this book, but as he explains, it is not for political reasons but sentimental ones. “Many people refer to the region as the Persian Gulf, but my first introduction to it was through Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. For me, the Gulf, khaleej in either Arabic or Farsi, will always be the Arabian Gulf” (p. xix).

Attractive to a number of different audiences, including those interested in travel and history, Arab and Islamic design, anthropology and the social sciences, architectural history, and post-colonial and colonial history, Ronald Hawker should be commended for providing such a unique and in-depth study of this little known region.

By considering the complex and historical interactions between environment, tribe, economy, and colonial empires, Hawker is able to consider the way the buildings and architecture of the region has looked and functioned across time. “The social history, how people organized themselves and made a life in this difficult environment, is critical to understanding the architectural traditions” (p. xiv).

Considering the settlements of the Persian Gulf as part of a larger connected trade and social network of cities, towns, and ports, Building a Desert Tides focuses both on how the architecture and buildings of the Persian Gulf region provided innovative solutions to the demanding climate, as well as incorporating various decorative and functional styles from all directions. Documenting how the architecture of the region slowly was replaced by new patterns in both domestic and public spheres, Hawker successfully argues that as trade lines were secured and individual states moved towards new forms of governance, the architecture of the region changed in accordance.

Much of the Persian Gulf architecture from the era of date palm cultivation and pearling still stands, and many see these buildings as the “traditional” architecture of the Gulf and an important heritage of their respective countries. The palm frond, mud brick, and stone buildings, often times presently found as dilapidated shells of their former glory or shrouded in the shadows of the glass towered spires of the modern corporate office buildings, bear testimony to a time the people of the region were all inextricably linked by their ability to use the surrounding sand and water for sustenance, transportation, communication, and commerce. Traditional Architecture Of Arabian Gulf: Building a Desert Tidessuccessfully preserves and honors this rich history and tradition, and demonstrates the ingenuity the cultures of the region had developed in terms of living in the environment.

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