The Red Sea Museum catalogue embarks the reader on a cross-cultural journey along the Red Sea, exploring its dazzling beauty and rich diversity through time, stories, and coastline cities. The catalogue is inspired by the unique collection of the Red Sea Museum established by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture in Jeddah, the city that served as the Red Sea’s main port and whose identity was shaped by it. The museum is housed in the iconic Bab Al-Bunt heritage building, which used to be Jeddah’s customs house until the 1950s and has historically symbolized a junction point between dwellers of the Red Sea coast and the world, as Jeddah was a major gateway for pilgrims, merchants, explorers, and global travelers for centuries. Through a rare collection of manuscripts, photographs, maps, and ancient and contemporary artifacts and artworks, the Red Sea Museum and its catalogue recount the stories of the Red Sea and the paths of its dwellers. The richly illustrated volume echoes the museum’s structure and the exceptional diversity of its collections through four sections: “Living Sea” uncovers the blooming biodiversity of the Red Sea; “Sea of Civilizations” looks at the role played by the Red Sea as a crossroads between East and West connecting various civilizations and geographies through trade, travel, and navigation; “Sea of Faith” allows the readers to travel through time to experience the journeys of the millions of pilgrims who came from all parts of the Islamic world and turned Jeddah into the Gateway to Mecca; “Sea of Inspiration” highlights the vision of modern and contemporary artists and writers on the Red Sea.
