Advisor: Dr. Salim Al-Faqih

Abstract:
The western interest in the orient has its deep roots in history that goes back, according to some historians, to the early eleventh century. Since then this interest continued through different attitudes, aims and images that, have its own cultural background.

Academically this 'interest was in a wide spectrum of disciplines specially religion, literature, science, art and architecture. It was only by the beginning of the 19th century that the term " onientalism " was used to represent this interest. According to Edward Said, the late 18th century can be considered as the starting point for orientalism to be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the orient by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, and ruling it, in other words, orientalism as a western style for domination, restructuring, and having authority over the orient. This new era is known as modem orientalism.

A contemporary theory like post-structuralism, that tends to deconstruct everything, on the base that it is a "text" and there is nothing called "absolute truth,² has affected western as will as oriental attempts to criticize orientalism by deconstructing its strong and concrete structure.

Throughout all these changes, orientalism has produced 'in a period of nearly one thousand year a considerable heritage in different disciplines and languages. Studies about oriental art and architecture were part of this heritage and even the very term " Islamic architecture " was also the creation of this heritage this oriental effort 'included also a production of works of art and architecture, especially in the period of modem colonization. This production reflects the concepts and the ideas of the west about the orient through many buildings that have been erected both in the west 'in the universal expositions of the 19th century and 'in the orient itself.

On the other hand contemporary Arab architecture 'in the second half of the 20th century is developing 'in two general directions, the first depends on the principles of modem architecture with no reference to its traditions, and the second depends on a historical reference to the so- called " Islamic architecture" and it is now represented under different terms like " post Islamic ³, " neo - Islamic², etcŠ

A primary study shows that these directions or trends are influenced by orientalism both in their concepts and methods of representation. This research aims to discuss these influences through a critical reading of history in the modem and contemporary periods of Arab architecture and also by comparing what Arabs have represented themselves through their pavilions in the Seville 1992 universal exposition with similar representation produced by the west in the expositions of the 19th century.

In summary, the main problem this research deals with can be defined in the following question:
Does contemporary Arab architecture present its own perspective about its identity by recalling images, concepts, and processes from history, or does it just reproduce concepts and images that have been already represented through orientalist institutions