<![CDATA[This paper examines 19th  century Western travellers’ understanding of the ḥarÄ«m. Focusing in  particular on visual  depictions,  it  investigates  the  misconception  and  misrepresentation  of  the  ḥarÄ«m  in  Orientalists’ paintings and Western culture, using thework of the artist John Frederick Lewis as a main case study. Arguing that such representations oversimplify and fantasise sacred Islamic cultural experience,  this  paper,  as a counterpoint, restores a detailed understanding of the ḥarÄ«m and defines its wider Islamic implication within Arabic culture. Applying etymology and Islamic scripture to the study of architectural design,  this study explores the centrality of the concept of ḥijÄb (veil) to the organisation of physical space for women in the Islamic home. Written from the perspective of an Arabic Muslim  woman, this study seeks to explore the concept of the ḥarÄ«m from the “Others†perspective. Keyword: Western travellers, Orientalists, Muslim women, ḥarÄ«m, Arabic culture]]>
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