Spatial Poetry of Ha’il Area as an Icon of Cultural Heritage and Touristic Identifier: An Ecocritical Reading of Selected Poems

Abstract

This article deals with the presence of place, nature and memory of the Ha’il area (the city of two mountains) as embodied in Arabic poetry in English. The premise of this study is based on the view of what the Arab poets presented in terms of monitoring the Ha’il City and documenting the most important places and forms of nature drawing a picture of the natural life of the people of that place. It aslo explores how Arab poets portray the geographical and ecological features of the place, captured its mountains, valleys, and landscapes while simultaneously constructed a vivid image of the natural and social life of its inhabitants. Utilizing ecocriticism as a lens, the analysis reveals that that poetic engagement with place operates through both deliberate natural description and spontaneous memory, revealing the intrinsic connection between function as cultural and historical archives that preserve environmental memory record historical transformations and articulate a sense of place-based identity. Further, it highlights the role of Arabic poetry in recording the civilizational and tourist continuity of Ha’il, the city of two mountains, from its ancient past until the present time. By analysing selected works of canonical Arab poets, the article demonstrates how the interplay between literature, palce, nature and memory enrich the understanding of environmental heritage and history and contributes to broader discussions of ecocriticism in Arabic literary academy.