1945 Survey of Egypt Arabic Map of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Bride of the Red Sea.

This is a scarce 1945 Arabic-language Survey of Egypt map of Jeddah (Jiddah), Saudi Arabia, the great transit point for Hajj pilgrims. It depicts the city at a time when it, like several other key Saudi cities, was being reshaped through profits from the Kingdom's abundant oil reserves.

A Closer Look

This map covers Jeddah and its surroundings on the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Topographic features and infrastructure are covered in great detail, including roads (main and secondary, traced in red), waterways and sources of water, valleys (wadis وديان, traced in green), areas of cultivation, telephone lines (traced in black), terrain, and elevation, which is marked throughout the hilly interior. An inset at bottom-left covers the area known today as the Jiddah al-Qadīmah (Old town), indicating government buildings, diplomatic missions, the seaport and related facilities, and the city's historical walls and entrance gates.

At right is the Wadi Fatima (وادي فاطمة), which has historically channeled water from the surrounding mountains to Jeddah. Running to and through the valley is the road to Mecca, itself beyond the scope of this map at right. The road (the basis for today's Highway 290) connected Jeddah and Mecca via historic pilgrimage stations.

Debarkation Point for Pilgrims

Jeddah, located on the Red Sea (البحر الأحمر) coast of western Arabia, has long served as the principal gateway to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Its role as a port and commercial hub dates back many centuries, but it gained heightened importance in the modern era as maritime and later air travel brought increasing numbers of Hajj pilgrims to the region. Under Ottoman control and then during the early Saudi period after 1925, Jeddah became the main point of entry for Muslims arriving from Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and beyond. The city developed a cosmopolitan character shaped by merchants, consuls, and pilgrims from across the Islamic world, while its historic coral-stone architecture and bustling souqs (markets/bazaars) reflected its maritime trading heritage.

In the mid-20th century, Jeddah underwent rapid transformation as Saudi Arabia modernized and invested heavily in infrastructure to support the expanding pilgrimage economy and the growth of the oil industry. The opening of Jeddah's international airport (marked مطار to the northeast of the city center here, opened in 1939 as a military airstrip) and improvements to its port facilities enabled the city to handle dramatically larger numbers of pilgrims, especially after World War II (1939 - 1945), when air travel began replacing long sea voyages. Modern amenities, hospitals, and quarantine stations were established to accommodate and protect Hajj travelers. At the same time, Jeddah grew into the Kingdom's diplomatic and commercial center, with foreign embassies and businesses establishing a presence there before the eventual development of Riyadh as the national capital. These changes reshaped Jeddah into a modern gateway city, blending its historical identity as the 'Bride of the Red Sea' and the 'Gate to Mecca' with new economic and logistical roles in Saudi Arabia's mid-20th-century development.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the Survey of Egypt (مصلحة المساحة المصرية) in 1945, with triangulation work handled by surveyor Ahmed Afia Effendi (أحمد عافية أفندي). It is of a series by the Survey, which also included a 1946 map of Madinah (Medina) and a 1948 map of Mecca (see our earlier listings of Madinah-surveyofegypt-1946 and Mecca-surveyofegypt-1948). This interpretation is supported by the phrase 'Plate 2' (لوحة ٢) at top-right. To the left of the title at the top is a stamp indicating that this map came from the library (that is, bookshop مكتبة) of Muhammed Saeed Kamal (1915-1995, محمد سعيد كمال) in Taif (اَلطَّائِفُ‎), Saudi Arabia. Kamal was a renowned scholar, jurist, historian, and bookshop owner of the era, and the bookshop he founded remains active today. We are only aware of one cataloged example of the present map, located at the Library of Congress.

Cartographer

Survey of Egypt (c. 1898 - present; مصلحة المساحة المصرية) was the official surveying body of the Egyptian government from the turn of the 20th century until the founding of the Republic of Egypt. As Egypt was a British Protectorate for most of this period, the survey closely resembled government survey operations in other British colonies and protectorates. However, unlike many other surveys, the Survey of Egypt did not continue under its colonial name in the postcolonial period. Instead, in the independence era, the former Survey became known as the Egyptian General Survey Authority (الهيئة المصرية العامة للمساحة), from 1971 has been affiliated with the Ministry of Irrigation (وزارة الري).   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Laid down on old, likely original, linen.

References

OCLC 816234085.