This paper reviewed related research works and developments on the traditional architectural element “mashrabiya” focusing on its history, design and structure, typology, and functions in hot climates. Moreover, the paper assessed the effect of the traditional mashrabiya on the indoor thermal environment and thermal comfort in a selected case study building. For this purpose, two similar rooms were investigated in a selected historic building with abundant mashrabiyas located in the Makkah Region, specifically in Old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The field tests were conducted during a typical hot summer month with two different configurations. The study demonstrated that opening the mashrabiya allowed more airflow into the room during the day and reduced the indoor temperature by up to 2.4 °C as compared to the closed mashrabiya. Besides, the building envelope played an important role in preventing the high fluctuation of the indoor air temperature, where the fluctuation of the rooms air temperature ranged between 2.1 °C and 4.2 °C compared to the outdoor temperature which recorded a fluctuation between 9.4 °C and 16 °C. The data presented here can be used for the future development of the mashrabiya concept and the potential incorporation with passive cooling methods to improve its design according to the requirements of modern buildings in hot climates. Moreover, further studies and tests on mashrabiyas under different climatic conditions are required. Also, the different strategies or materials can be incorporated with mashrabiyas in order to improve its thermal performance.

Islamic hospitality is a reflection of religious and cultural values and principles that aim to enhance unity, equity, and social relationships. Despite its increase in demand by Muslims and even non-Muslims, the main principles of Islamic hospitality has been neglected due to the emergence of contemporary forms of hospitality. Therefore, the aim of this review paper is to establish a modern approach which will promote the concept of Islamic hospitality in Makkah. The Islamic hospitality in Makkah city was selected due to its recent transformation towards the contemporary concept of hospitality. To achieve the research aim, systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate the historical development of Islamic hospitality, and the challenges it has encountered recently. Afterwards, it was identified that Islamic hospitality in Makkah has witnessed significant changes such as: Ibrahimic Hospitality, Arabic Hospitality, Islamic Hospitality, and Contemporary Hospitality. Based on the aforementioned, this paper recommends modern strategy to redefining the concept of Islamic Hospitality. This will enable the Islamic hospitality in Makkah to retain its religious and cultural values and principles, rather than becoming a way of acquiring money and reflecting the commercial hospitality principles.

Enriching visitors' experiences at religious, historical sites (RHS) is getting more attention than before. This research aims to identify and investigate the influential factors enriching the visitors' experience at such a site, using Al-Khandaq battle site as the case study. Forty-two respondents were interviewed at the site and NVivo 12 pro software was used to code and analyze the responses. The study explored tourist motivations, expectations, and perceptions as the guiding constructs in detailed qualitative analysis.  Foremost, learning, reliving the experience of the events of the battle, and Islamic values were the primary motivation to the historic site visitation. Next, findings reveal the extent to which tourists' expectations can be met through the availability of an open museum, accessibility, and the spatial and experiential simulation of the ancient Al-Khandaq path.  Lastly, the need to reconstruct the historical site in spatial planning and experiential dimensions formed the main thrust of the element of visitors' perception.  Based on the foregoing, the study recommends that Al-Khandaq site should be developed traditionally as an open museum, displaying both religious and historical elements of the battle with emphasis on the visual connection to the Prophet's mosque

This study gives a better understanding of the effect of crowding on pilgrims at the Hajj. It explores the levels of perceived crowding of Southeastern Asian pilgrims and investigates the effects of gender on their perceived crowding. Questionnaire in both Bahasa Melayu and English languages were administered for data collections from randomly selected pilgrims, (n=128), from the Southeast Asia Hajj group at Mina for three days (10th, 11th and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah). Results revealed that pilgrims witness high levels of crowd perception within their stay at Mina. In addition also, differences between the overall perceived crowding, perceived human crowding and perceived spatial crowding among pilgrims were revealed. Perceived human crowding was found as an indicator to the overall perceived crowding at Mina.  Future research could be carried out to assess the effects of other factors such as education and cultural backgrounds and these findings can help authorities in charge of formulating policies manage crowd levels and perception.

Passive spaces are a passive design strategy that aims to reduce energy consumption and increase user satisfaction in buildings. One example of passive space is the air shaft. The air shaft is a vertical void within the building from the ground level to the roof level, and it provides the building with natural ventilation and daylight, especially in deep-plan buildings. However, the function of the air shaft is questioned due to its impacts on residents' needs. This study assesses the effects of air shaft specifications on residents' satisfaction with the indoor environment quality of air shafts and adjoining spaces. Survey questionnaires were distributed to residents of apartment buildings. The results proved that air shafts have a significant negative impact on residents' satisfaction. The findings of cross-tabulation analysis illustrate a significant relationship between the air shafts' specifications and the residents' answers. The analysis also showed that the air shafts that are closed from the bottom and include A\C outdoor units have a more negative impact on the thermal environment and air quality. Regarding the air shaft areas, the small areas have a high negative response regarding bad smell, the view, visual and acoustic privacy, and thermal environment. From the indoor environment quality perspective, this study emphasizes the need to consider the impact of air shaft design on a building's performance and residents' satisfaction. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the development of future passive spaces design.