While sacred spaces cannot be narrowed down to particular forms or meanings, they do in their meanings and functions express fundamental values and principles, and in doing so, they perform the work of religion itself. This collection of essays looks at the meanings, functions, and negations of sacred space in Egypt and the Middle East. It is divided into three parts: meanings and functions of contemporary sacred spaces, historical perspectives on sacred space, and sacred space in literature and philosophy. Cairo Papers in Social Science 31/1