Minarets of Jeddah: Architectural Landmarks

The minarets of Jeddah form an integral part of the city’s visual memory, serving as architectural landmarks that preserve traces of its history and urban transformations. Through their shapes, construction materials, and decorative details, they narrate the evolution of Islamic architectural art in the Hejaz region. In historic Jeddah, several architectural examples of minarets have retained their historical characteristics, most notably the Al-Shafi’i Minaret (pictured), one of the oldest surviving minarets in the city. Its construction dates back to the seventh century AH (13th century CE). It is distinguished by its circular stone structure, divided into floors interspersed with balconies featuring intricate wooden details, and crowned by an upper structure, a dome, and a crescent. This provides a clear example of the distinctiveness of local architecture in old Jeddah.

The historic minarets of Jeddah reveal a notable diversity in construction styles; some adopt a simpler form, while others display more pronounced geometric and decorative details, reflecting the different periods in which they were built and the varied architectural influences that passed through the city due to its location on the Red Sea coast and its historical ties to trade, Hajj, and Umrah activities.

The particularity of Jeddah’s minarets is also evident in their relationship with the surrounding urban landscape. They rose above traditional houses featuring wooden rawashin (wooden lattice windows), creating a visual contrast between the horizontal expanse of the buildings and the verticality of the minarets. This imparts distinctive characteristics to the skyline of historic Jeddah, which remain vivid in the collective memory of the place. (SPA)