An Oasis Facing Globalisation: The History and Development of Hegra (Saudi Arabia) since the late 19th Century
This project investigates the past 150 years of an oasis which has for centuries been a major station of caravan routes in the north-western Arabian Peninsula. It zooms in on two major transformative events which have reconfigured the relationship of the oasis, its Bedouin neighbours and statehood. The first of these events is the establishment of the Hejaz railway in the early 20th century, the second the current development of the oasis as a major centre for tourism and culture. The project investigates these histories, as well as their representation in local memory and historiography.