ABSTRACT

A recent Deutsche Bank advertisement in a local newspaper showed the symbols of various Middle Eastern cities and countries as a way to establish its transnational credentials. Egypt’s Sphinx, Jordan’s Petra and Lebanon’s Baalbek represented the ‘old’ or traditional Middle East. Appropriately, all its symbols are historic. But when it came to the ‘new Middle East’, the choice of imagery changed. Cities and countries were represented by modern buildings – the Faisaliah Tower in Riyadh and Kuwait’s Water Towers. The focus of the advertisement, however, was Bahrain’s Financial Harbour and Dubai’s Emirates Towers. A clear distinction was drawn between the past and the future – and it was quite clear where a transnational fi nancial institution sees the future. Aside from the political and fi nancial implications of this, it is telling that architecture is used to communicate these meanings. And not just any architecture – it has to be spectacular, unique – in short iconic.