Human history has seen many settlements transformed or built entirely by expatriate work forces and foreigners arriving from various places. Recent migration patterns in the Gulf have led to emerging 'airport societies' on unprecedented scales. Most guest workers, both labourers and mid to high-income groups, perceive their stay as a temporary opportunity to earn suitable income or gain experience. This timely book analyses the essential characteristics of this unique urban phenomenon substantiated by concrete examples and empirical research. Both authors have lived and worked in the Gulf including Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates during various periods between 2006 and 2014. They explore Gulf cities from macro and interconnected perspectives rather than focusing solely on singular aspects within the built environment. As academic architects specialised in urbanism and the complex dynamics between people and places the authors build new bridges for understanding demographic and social changes impacting urban transformations in the Gulf.

Against a backdrop of international intrigue and intense spiritual warfare, architect Marga Jann takes us on a seat-gripping journey through a quartet of academic assignments -- with much more at stake than her professorial mission. Based at Cambridge, she unwittingly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous and diplomatically-sensitive battle between MI6/CIA operatives and Saudi Intelligence--a narrative she daringly recounts in this first part of a riveting trilogy. Most people are unaware of the interconnected real and spiritual wars around us and therefore lack the tools to attain true victory in seemingly random everyday battles. In this unusually constructed, engrossing semi-autobiographical novel, Jann highlights the power of prayer in exposing and conquering the workings of darkness while sharing important contemporary socio-cultural and geopolitical insights not typically revealed in mainstream media.