Manama, Bahrain

Abstract

Kish is a low-lying island of coral rock, 90 km2 in area, a few kilometres off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf. Ferdousi Street is the actual main avenue of Kish, but in spite of its line of hotels, amusements and shopping malls, this cannot really be classified as an urban centre, as it fails to give any form to public space. Strangely, there is no mosque in the city centre'. Instead there is only an abandoned casino, shaped like a spiky crown, at the end of this major axis, backing onto the beach but more of that later. The position that Kish has held within the Persian Gulf for millennia as an international trading post, and as a bridge' between Persia and Arabia, accords with its new free-zone' status and is reflected in its eclectic architectural identity. A thousand years ago, Harireh was one of the Gulf's most important centres of pearl diving, fishing and trading. The editors and contributors 2013.