His­toric Jed­dah is sit­u­at­ed on the east­ern shore of the Red Sea. From the 7th cen­tu­ry AD it was estab­lished as a major port for Indi­an Ocean trade routes, chan­nelling goods to Mec­ca. It was also the gate­way for Mus­lim pil­grims to Mec­ca who arrived by sea. These twin roles saw the city devel­op into a thriv­ing mul­ti­cul­tur­al cen­tre, char­ac­ter­ized by a dis­tinc­tive archi­tec­tur­al tra­di­tion, includ­ing tow­er hous­es built in the late 19th cen­tu­ry by the city‘s mer­can­tile elites, and com­bin­ing Red Sea coastal coral build­ing tra­di­tions with influ­ences and crafts from along the trade routes.