Jasmine Shahin, "The Poetics of Arabian Sūqs: A Hermeneutic Reading of the Development of Arabian Sūqs from the Pre-Islamic Era to Presen"
English | ISBN: 1032267984 | 2022 | 254 pages | PDF | 42 MB
This book investigates the history of Arabian sūqs from their pre-Islamic beginnings to the present. Collecting evidence from archaeological ruins, Islamic towns, modern cities, Arabic poetry, philosophical debates, political conflicts, puppet shows and the insights of modern-day market-goers, the book presents new and unforeseen interpretations of the Arabian sūq's meaning and its transformation through time and place. The finding that such meaning is tied to ancient trade rituals, where temple and market presented a holistic socio-urban unit, re-questions some instrumental assumptions regarding the value of sūq-ness in Arabia's everyday practices. Such a finding, which locates the