Toulan: A professional pilgrimage to Mecca by Clift lohnson Many years ago, Dr. Nohad Toulan, dean of PSU's School of Urban and Public Affairs, journeyed to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. As a Moslem, he was just one of millions of pilgrims who make their way each year to the center of Islam's holiest city to perform their sacred rituals. Moslems are expected to make this pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes, if jX)Ssible. But now loulan is in Mecca once again, this time with a different mission: to coordinate the efforts of an international team of 3S urban planning specialists who already have labored two years to develop a comprehensive development plan for the city. They are stymied. Their plan somehow must cope not only with the influx of pilgrims, but also with the skyrocketing growth of today's bustling holy city and its half-million permanent residents. Such international trouble-shooting assi8[lments are nothing new to this master of urban design. Over the years, Toulan has _ consulted on many planning projects in such areas as latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and England. But his current task may prove to be his most ambitious-and self-sacrificing-yet. Because he is charged with completing his work in Mecca before the summer of 1985, he began his leave of absence from PSU onJan. 1, ~e;~7'a~~%~~o~I:~!ir~=n~~n~I~~~~~ea~~~e, and Omar, both students at Portland's Wilson High School. He also had to temporarily relinquish his stewardship of one of PSU's key professional schools, which he is widely credited with bringing into being in the years since he first came to the University in 1972. Further, Toulan has spent his last 26 years in the U.S., and considers himself as much a cultural and social produd of this country as of his native Egypt. "If I can finish a strategic plan for PSU, I believe I can finish one for Mecca!" What made him forsake cherished personal and professional surroundings in order to take on such a formidable international assignment? In essence, he sees in Mecca an unparalleled opportunity to synthesize on a grand scale the technical aspects of the planning process with a sensitivity to the religious, cultural and social differences inherent in the holy city and its people. Truly, the well-being of a half-million yeaHound residents and millions of Moslem faithful is at stake. "The project has been going on for a couple of years and it has been in serious professional trouble," he explained shortly before his departure. "So baSically what I'm doing now is trying to salvage the project. You cannot do that by being nice to everybody around you," he noted, referring to the stalled project's demonstrated need for firm leadership. SurpriSingly, money is not part of the problem for this elite planning group. Thanks to the oil boom, the host Saudi government is well-financed. But the problems of rapid urbanization have been magnified in Mecca by the same boom, including a ten-fold increase in the dry's automobile traffic alone, according to Toulan. He believes Mecca realty needs two plans. The "inner plan" would involve urban design covering the central city area (which is closed 10 non-Moslems), concentrating on special facilities needed to accommodate the ebb and flow of the religiOUS pilgrims and their unique transportation needs. Their rituals require them to go to several different sites separated by almost seven kilometers, Toulan explained. "So the question becomes how you transport these thousands of people between the places which are sites of the many pilgrimage rituals." In contrast, the "outer plan" is "really no different than preparing a plan for the Portland metropolitan area," he insists. BaSically, it involves a spatial analysis of the Correct mix of such factors as freeways, housing and industry. Mecca is a dty that means many things to many different people. A planner is apt to regard it as a normal, functioning city with a religious core. ... But Toulan urges you to place yourself in the pilgrim's position. You may be a citizen of the jet age, yet like many others of your faith the world over, you are poor and must make the long journey on foot. If you are like many pilgrims from West Africa, you must walk across Nigeria, cross the Red Sea by boat from Sudan, Dean Nohad Toulan .. .But Toulan urges you to place yourself in the pilgrim's position. and then walk again from leddah and on to Mecca. During the course of your once-in-a-lifetime trip, you may have to stop often in order to finance your joumey by working at your trade. Like more and more people flOm impoverished nations who are joining you ;n this pilgrimage, you most likely will want to stay in Mecca beyond the two to ten days of religious rites, in order to replenish your energies before beginning the long journey home. Yet while the Saudi Arabians consider you and your family "the guests of Cod" when you are in Mecca and want to see that you are treated decently, this modem host state cannot open its doors for every person who wants to walk in for an extended stay.. T o~l~n~~~~~f:it~kfedna~dhe d!d,U !~~e:'yOU know, I just finished a Strategic Plan for Portland State University. If I can finish one for PSU, I believe I can finish one for Meccal" Noting his extensive family and professional ties here, he said on the eve of his departure for Mecca that he felt "a firm commitment" to return to PSU. " I do love this place, incidentally," he said, leaning forward in his chair. "Sometimes, I'm very critical of what goes on. But you know, you can only be critical of places that you care for. If you don't care about something, then you don't bother about it And I do care about this place, and I do intend to come back." 3
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