Hotels and Their Role in the Islamic State During the Middle Ages

A Historical Study

Abstract

The Islamic state has witnessed, since its early beginnings, interest in the civil aspects, represented in the architecture of civil institutions due to their dimensions at all levels within the Islamic society, including the establishment and development of hotels. The study is concerned with the services provided by these institutions with their various names to travelers and merchants, and highlighting the role of the functions related to them. The study aims to know the hotel institutions in the process of commercial communication between Muslims themselves and the Christian West. This communication has contributed to facilitating the task of merchants and organizing trade within the Islamic state, in addition to its repercussions on the social, cultural and intellectual dimensions. What indicates the success of this institution is its continuity in the face of conflicts and fluctuations, in this research, I relied on the historical approach based on interrogating and analyzing texts to reach the desired results. The most prominent of these is that the hotel institution, despite its different names, is a Mediterranean institution with common links between accommodation and trade. The word hotel or inn is merely a difference in name, but it carries the same functions. It has become one of the prominent landmarks with social dimensions, as it brings together people of different cultures and nationalities. This is considered a historical impact in shaping the civilized environment in Islamic cities.