ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the socio-urban developments of pre-Islamic Arabia, taking into consideration the historical classification of its geographic make-up, previously discussed through the accounts of Herodotus, Strabo and Dio. Accordingly, the chapter explores the archaeological remnants of different pre-Islamic Arabian settlements at Saba, Petra, Qaryat al-Fau and Medina, and then cross-examines them against the available literary conventions of the era. The chapter attempts to draw conclusions regarding the meaning of pre-Islamic sūq-ness by means of further exploring the rituals of sūqs and their relation to the ancient pilgrimage route. The chapter concludes that the idea of sūq-ness for a pre-Islamic Arab transcended the limits of simple trading, evoking instead the duality of fadaā/tareeq, which seems to encapsulate an Arabian understanding of being-in-the-world.
