Genius of the Place: Al-Bunt

An exceptional immersive journey across time and space to unravel the soul of this iconic building.

Located in Al-Balad, Jeddah's historic old town recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, Bab Al-Bunt is a magnificent heritage building with a unique aesthetic, architectural, cultural, and historical significance. Serving as Jeddah's customhouse until the 1950s, the building was an indispensable access point for traders whose dreams of opulence drove them to venture into the Red Sea and enter Arabia through Jeddah. But the over 100-year-old building was also a place where Muslim pilgrims from all over the world gathered before heading to Mecca. Bab Al-Bunt today hosts the Red Sea Museum established by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture to celebrate the aesthetic and heritage values of the Red Sea coastal cities.

Genius of the Place: Al-Bunt book series is an invitation to travel across time and space to unravel the soul of this iconic building. At the invitation of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture, five renown photographers and five international writers and poets from Saudi Arabia, the Arab region, and Europe have mobilized their talent to capture the essence and spirit of Al-Bunt. The result is an astonishing collection of rare images accompanied by a compelling narrative, that take the reader on a visual and historic voyage uncovering the "genius of the place" called Al-Bunt.