Bottom-Up Approaches in Governance & Dynamic Building Regulations in the Arab-Islamic Urban

Aerial photograph of Baghdad Iraq. Taken between 1920-1934. (Granger Historical Picture Archive)

The concept of Islamic urbanism and architecture has been extensively talked about in academia and print media. It continues to be a point of fascination to many: the geometric spaces and patterns, the meticulous ornamentations which decorate the buildings, the grand mosques, and luxurious castles, but what is often neglected are the principles of which Islamic urbanism is built upon: sharia, and the traditional bottom-up approach to urban governance in the Arab-Islamic urban context. Researchers on the old traditional cities of the Middle East and North Africa note that they are organic and unplanned, while this is certainly true, the framework of urban governance in Islam was very conventionally different from the planning oriented approach in the West, which came to dominate the field of city planning and urban design. When talking about traditional urban spaces across the Islamic world, the same orientalist tropes are often regurgitated without much critical thinking: they are chaotic and hectic because of their organic and unplanned nature, however, when looking at context clues in the Islamic urban and we begin to understand that the opposite is very much true.

Oleg Grabar opens his article on the Growth and Culture of Urban Islam with an inscription on a mosque from the eleventh century:

“This mosque was built by al-Husayn ibn ‘Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Silsila, the cloth merchant, in his desire to seek the satisfaction of God and of the other world. May God have mercy upon whomever recites a [pious] formula for him, during his lifetime or after his death. The palm tree which is in this mosque is food for Muslims; it can neither be bought or sold.”

This inscription clearly states the rules and regulations behind the fruit-bearing tree within the mosque’s space. Islamic urbanism and Islam of this era is illustrated as a world of mystic scholars contemplating profound realities, but the truth is that the scholars of this age were able to intersect the physical and spiritual needs in a practical and realistic manner, that is rooted in the fear of God.

Architecture as a medium is molded by the environment. The climate shapes what is needed structurally, and the ecology provides the materials on which those structures are built upon. These materials shape the aesthetic of the buildings and the culture further refines these aesthetics. Urbanism also reflects the spiritual necessities of society. As adherents to sharia, abiding by a set of rules and laws prescribed from the Quran and hadith, the built environment had to facilitate these spiritual needs. As a result, the Arab-Islamic urban is characterized by a large central Friday mosque (jami’), and its winding and bustling marketplaces, (souq or bazaar). Open spaces were limited, reserved for private residences, multi-family homes often had a central courtyard for open space. Depending on the climatic conditions of the sub-region, they would vary in size to give more shading or allow for greater ventilation. The orientation of the streets provides a greater sense of privacy for women, with certain access points to houses only accessible to families of a certain neighborhood. This shows that a great deal of thought and care went into procuring urban spaces in the Islamic world. It lacks any sense of chaos that ‘organic’ growth would bring. 

Privacy is the most prominent element of Arab-Islamic urbanism and architecture. Privacy in the Islamic context “enhances autonomy and... minimizes vulnerability”. This physical space reflected this spiritual need, and because the shape of the urban fabric was involved. The primary concern of this concept was to protect the family’s visual privacy. The Islamic concept of mahram, which defines the relationship between men and women by blood ties or marriage affected where and how families socialize and interact with ‘strangers’ to the family. As a result, the jurists of the Islamic urban environment dictated certain rules that would protect the privacy of households. This included the fact that families and strangers had separate entrances, which would lead to a majlis to welcome guests or directly to the home; where windows can and can’t be built; and building heights. The building of new houses and streets were highly regulated by the community collectively. The heads of the households, the sheikh, qadi, muhtasib, and imam were all highly involved in the mediation and regulation of privacy. 

While there was no ‘zoning code’ to speak of, buildings in the traditional Islamic city were highly regulated. The location of shops, the width of streets, the heights of buildings, the position of doors and windows, were all of great importance. These rules were agreed upon based on commonsense and in agreement with sharia. Regulations also changed, shifted, and evolved as the needs of the community changed and the urban fabric grew. This was an advantage that Islamic urbanism enjoyed over traditional zoning regulations, which remain static. Regulations changed on a case-by-case basis. The rules were very much malleable and based on community consensus. Governance in Islamic urbanism emphasized a bottom-up approach, which built strong ties across the community and fostered engagement amongst all participants of the city through a shared understanding of the common good. 

Hierarchy of the interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence.

This bottom-up approach was built upon the organizational hierarchy of how sharia is interpreted. Islamic sharia is comprised of the Quran, sunna (the set of traditions and practices of the Prophet that constitute a model for Muslims to follow), qiyas (deduction of religious texts by analogical reasoning), and ijma (consensus amongst scholars). The interpretation of sharia begins at the top of the hierarchy with the ulama, religious scholars who are schooled in Islamic doctrine and jurisprudence (referred to as fiqh in the Islamic community). Next in the hierarchy are the local judges, known as the qadi. The qadi acted as a community mediator in all issues, including those related to building regulations in accordance with one of the major schools of fiqh, known as madhab. The qadi would sometimes be accompanied by a mufti in mediation efforts, who acted as a juror. The former has the authoritative power to apply and enforce the established rules while the latter provides information on the juridical-moral status of an act is. Finally, the muhtasib would act as a district supervisor to promote good and forbid evil and maintain that public business was conducted in accordance with Islamic jurisprudence. The muhtasib oversaw the supervision of markets, suqs, and bazaars. 

While the Islamic city certainly lacked the European model of zoning, its building regulations were incredibly dynamic and facilitated an evolving set of rules and guidelines that could be adjusted in accordance with the need of the community and the urban form. The community and its stakeholders adjusted regulations on a case-by-case basis regularly. Today’s zoning code in cities across the world limits the ability that communities and decision-makers have in changing regulations in accordance with the needs of the community. Scaling back to the geographic focus of this blog, relating to the Khaleej and the Arabian Peninsula, where our zoning code and urban design mimic that of the West, is there any place for traditional bottom-up approaches to urban governance in the modern urban fabric? Is it possible for our building regulations to become dynamic, where rules can be reevaluated on a case-by-case basis in today’s urban landscapes? I await your comments and engagements!

The Destruction of Mecca & Medina's Historic Landscapes

“La Mecque” - Louis-Nicolas de Lespinasse, circa 1787.

In a cultural landscape class which discusses issues of historic preservation, I introduced myself as a student interested in issues of historic preservation in the Arabian Peninsula, and how cities of the past are being destroyed across the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. My professor responded: “Islamic cultures have never been particularly great at preservation”, this throwaway remark by my professor struck me. As different students in the class introduced themselves and their interest, I couldn’t help but stay stuck on that remark the professor had made. I had always attributed the lack of historic preservation in the Middle East to the modernist movement and capitalist motives. The sudden influx of wealth from fossil fuels demanded a lot of new development that came at the cost of our urban heritage. Looking at historic preservation practices under a religious lens could help us better understand the attitude on preservation in an Arab-Islamic context. Islam is an innately urban religion, Mecca & Medina are the cradles of Islam and are cities that have existed for millennia, and yet today it is dominated by massive skyscrapers, hotels, malls, and cranes. The Gulf Institute in Washington D.C. estimates that 95% of 1000-year-old structures in Mecca & Medina have been demolished, but what forces are to blame for this destruction?

The need for conservation in Islamic cities is often drawn to individual monuments, mosques, mausoleums, fortresses, palaces, etc. But, what is of greater importance and a subject of emphasis is the historic city centers. Conservation within Islamic cities does not only pertain to saving important monuments, which provide plenty of architectural elements unique to Islamic traditions and culture, but also to safeguard the settings of these important monuments and to improve the environment of these urban areas. The rapid pace of development in the Middle East has perpetuated a false narrative that the Arab-Islamic urban is as new as the oil boom, whereas Islamic traditions since the time of the prophet have been rooted in cities. 

The prophet himself lived in the city of Mecca and spent the last decade of his life in al-Medina al Munawara (The Illuminated City), otherwise referred to as Medina. Islamic civilizations have always been urban in character and nature, the mosque requiring a permanent population and a fixed location demanded them to be as such. The social and communal solidarity based on religion was ingrained in the fabric and development of Islamic civilizations. Mecca and Medina are the two holiest cities of Islam, effectively being the cradle of the religion. One is the birthplace of the Prophet while the latter is his burial place. Muslims are commanded by God as part of the five pillars of Islam to perform Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to the Holy Mosque and Kaaba in Mecca where a series of rituals are performed. Many pilgrims will choose to visit Medina as part of their Hajj, to visit the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet), which contains Muhammad's tomb. The Quba Mosque and Masjid al-Qiblatayn are also usually visited as well. While both of the cities are of great spiritual and religious value to Muslims, its historical importance to the planning practices of Islamic civilization has been understudied in Western literature. The layout of courtyards in residential neighborhoods of Medina within narrow alleyways in relation to wider avenues that lead to mosques has major implications to the way we understand the Islamic planning process and the legacy of these traditions remain alive in the historic center of early Islamic cities such as Basrah, Kufa, Fustat, Kairouan, and Wasit. These planning processes were led under the Prophet’s guidance and followed by the Caliphs. The loss of historic monuments and structures in Islamic cities, particularly in Mecca and Medina, has always been attributed to economic development and rapid urbanization. Business and capital interests demanded a substantial amount of construction of infrastructure. The destruction of heritage necessitated by development and modernization can be understood as a legacy of colonialism. In a conference on the preservation of Islamic urban heritage in Istanbul, the chairman of the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) was quoted: “... What continues to be the greatest threat and what had spurred the destruction of Islamic urban heritage in the Middle East and beyond are the forces of westernization overtaking the Islamic world”. What is ironic about this statement is that the chairman of the AUDI, who is Saudi, and the AUDI, which is housed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, neglects that much of the destruction in Mecca and Medina was encouraged by the hardline Wahhabi doctrine which is practiced and forced in Saudi Arabia. 

“Medina, showing the ancient wall of the city” - King Abdulaziz Public Library, circa 1890s(?)

The Saudi dynasty and the Wahhabi religious movement are intimately tied into the unification of Arabia, as well as the Al-Saud’s rise to power. The Wahabbi doctrine is a puritanical and literal interpretation of Islam and a return to the sunna, the traditional portion of Islamic Sharia based on Muhammad's words or acts. The religious movement sees its origins in the late 18th-century where Islamic scholar, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, forms an alliance with Prince Muhammad bin Saud, to create unified Arabia and to fight Ottoman rule. Arabia would be unified by the ‘true monotheist doctrine of Islam’ and to purify the Muslim Empire from Shirk (idolatry). The strict forbiddance of idolatry presented a threat to historical structures in Mecca as structures became focal points for prayers, particularly mausoleums and burial sites that housed the prophet and his companions. With the advent of the first Saudi state following the Wahhabi-Saudi alliance taking over Nejd, Wahhabi forces sacked the Shiite holy city Karbala in modern-day Iraq, killing over 5,000 people and plundering the Place of Al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. This is mainly because Shia practices and beliefs violated what Wahhabis believed to be the fundamentals of the religion – “the Quran, the Sunnah, and the Hanbali school's legal positions”. Wahhabi forces successfully take over Mecca in 1805, where they began their campaign of destruction in numerous sacred sites and proceeded to level all the existing domes, including the ones built over the well of Zamzam, where it is believed that God miraculously generated this water for Abraham’s son Ishmael and his mother Hajar while starving and thirsty in the desert. In 1806, Wahhabi forces took over Medina where they razed all domes and structures within, and outside, of the Baqi cemetery. Noteworthy sites that were destroyed include the Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra, the Mosque of al-Manaratain, and Qubbat' al-Thanaya. The Wahhabis and the Saudis intended to demolish the grave of the Prophet Muhammad many times, but would repeatedly change their minds. The Ottoman caliphate would then defeat the Wahhabis in 1818 and reclaim the two holy cities, and they would begin renovating and building the domes and mosques in a splendid aesthetic style. The Ottomans also built a dome on the Baqi’ cemetery over the graves of the prophet’s daughter Fatima al-Zahra, Zainul 'Abidin ('Ali bin al-Hussain), Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Baqir and Ja'far al-Sadiq.

Jannatul-Baqi before Demolition - Unknown Author, circa 1910s.

The destruction of holy sites would continue into the 20th and the 21st century as the unification of Arabia begins to take place and the Ottoman empire begins to crumble. The House of Saud regained control of Mecca and Medina in 1924 and carried out the second campaign of demolition in the Baqi’ cemetery. On April 21, 1925, King Ibn Saud granted permission to destroy the Baqi’ cemetery. Mausoleums, domes, and even the simplest of gravestones were destroyed by Wahhabi militias. The cemetery which honored Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib and Aminah, Muhammad's father and mother, as well as other notable family members and Imams, was now a complete wasteland. British convert Eldon Rutter describes the destruction as a natural disaster:

“All over the cemetery, nothing was to be seen but little indefinite mounds of earth and stones, pieces of timber, iron bars, blocks of stone, and broken rubble of cement and bricks, strewn about.”

The practice of justifying the destruction of historical and religious sites in the two holy cities continue to be justified by Wahhabi clerics of Saudi Arabia. Wahhabi clerics who play a major role in deciding the kingdom’s politics and religious life have vigorously opposed structures devoted to mortals as it diluted the worship of a single and unique God. A fatwa issued by the official Saudi body responsible for religious rulings states:

“It is impermissible to exaggerate the importance of historical sites and buildings because this might lead to Shirk [idolatry]. The laypeople may be tempted to believe that such places are blessed, and be driven to commit acts of disbelief. The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade building over graves and performing Salah (Prayer) by them, for that is a means of Shirk. It is, therefore, obligatory to neglect and abandon such a deed and to warn against it.”

Mecca, a millennium-old city, lacks its millennium-old buildings.

“View of the mosque, while congregational Çalat [i.e., Salat] are being held inside” - ʻAbd al-Ghaffār al-Sayyid, circa 1889.

In place of shrines and sites that honored religious figures stand entirely new sites and shrines dedicated to commerce. Around 70 years ago, the site in which the prophet was believed to be born in was turned into a cattle market close to the Grand Mosque, where the Ka’aaba is. In 1989, Ahmed Zaki Yamani led a team that excavated the alleged home of the prophet and his first wife, Khadijah, near the Grand Mosque. They worked for twenty-four hours to unearth the house and proceeded to take photographs of the structure but then filled it with sand, knowing that powerful clergy would consider the entire site blasphemous and would tear it down. The structure has since then been converted into a library Maktabat Makka al-Mukarrama, which houses many historical texts and archives on the prophet and the holy city. The library had come under threat of demolition with the Jabal Umar project, the largest real estate development projects near the Grand Mosque and in Mecca. The project has been described as a: “a sprawling complex that will eventually accommodate 100,000 people in 26 luxury hotels-sitting on another gargantuan plinth of 4,000 shops and 500 restaurants, along with its own six-story prayer hall”. Other real estate development projects would encompass and encircle the Grand Mosque. Skyscrapers and malls would tower over the holy site, mocking its ‘grand’ title. In 2002, the Ottoman built Ajyad Fortress which sat atop the Bulbul hill was demolished after 222 years. The landmarks were replaced by the Abraj al-Bait complex, which included the Mecca Royal Clock Tower, six skyscrapers, and a large shopping mall developed in partnership with foreign hotel chains. These commercial developments are subsidized by the Saudi government King Abdul Aziz Endowment for the Holy Haram, as an effort to commercialize and make a profit off of the Hajj and religious tourism.

The destruction of the Ajyad fortress spurred international and domestic protests and fueled further outrage on the destruction of heritage sites within the international Islamic world. The Turkish foreign minister attempted to stop the demolition, along with the Turkish Culture Minister has asked UNESCO to protest to Saudi Arabia, describing the demolition as a “crime against humanity and UNESCO should expose this disgraceful and ugly destruction and cultural massacre". Rallies and protests are held annually against Saudi sponsored destruction globally, most notably in Iran, India, Pakistan, and the United States. The day is known as Yaum-e Gham/Rooz-e Gham ("Day of Sorrow") by many Shiite Muslims. The Saudi government’s destruction of historic sites has largely targeted sites that are important to Shia Muslims, further fueling the sectarian conflict in the Middle East and the proxy war between Saudi and Iran.

Abraj Al-Bait looming over the Grand Mosque.

The question of ownership of historic sites in Mecca and Medina becomes an incredibly difficult question to answer. Islam has 1.8 billion adherents to the religion, all of which have some claim to make on these sites. Islamic history and the history of Mecca and Medina are not exclusive to Arabs and the settlers of Arabia. The region has a long history of Persian, Turkish, and other peoples living and traveling to the region. Every adherent to the religion of Islam could make a spiritual claim to this site. Moreover, Ottoman heritage and architecture is important to the region as it marks the long rule of the Ottoman empire over the Hejaz, as well as provide a visual and aesthetic mark in history on the development of Islamic architecture. There is very little room to contest the claims of the Saudi, during the demolition of the fortress the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs was quoted that "no-one has the right to interfere in what comes under the state's authority", and that these commercial developments have the Muslim world’s best interest as it is an effort to accommodate more pilgrims.

This conflict of ownership of Islamic cultural landscapes is extended to Islamic theology and culture as a whole. The ownership of heritage sites in Mecca and Medina is a lense on a much broader issue which is the growing influence and spread of Wahhabi ideology sponsored by the Saudi government. Wahhabi clerics see their message as the only ‘true and pure’ interpretation of Islam, and any other form of worship is heresy, completely invalidating the diverse forms of worship found across the Muslim world and its different sects and schools. Mosques and Islamic schools are built across the Muslim world in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia which preach this hardline puritanical version of Islam, and as clergy are continued to be pushed and promoted through Saudi media and broadcasting on radio and television, their sphere of influence continues to grow. The way in which the Wahhabi narrative operates seem to conflict with Islamic ideals, Islam as a faith was sent to all people, regardless of race and ethnicity.  

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.”

As the cast of luxury hotels and apartments, perched above a complex of shopping malls and large cranes cast their eerie shadow over our cities that once was, all that remains the singular Ka’aaba, dwarfed by the commercial complex. The Wahhabis have destroyed historic landscapes as the act of preservation in and of itself privileges the land as something holy, and is therefore considered an act of idolatry and apostasy. In a fatwa issued by Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz, then the kingdom's highest religious authority: "It is not permitted to glorify buildings and historical sites, such action would lead to polytheism. … So it is necessary to reject such acts and to warn others away from them." Yet, what they fail to recognize is in its place we have built temples to capital, temples dedicated to Mammon. The chase of greed and capital and profiting off of holy sites goes against Wahhabi ideals. The double standards the Saudis have committed on the preservation, or lack thereof, of religious and historical landscapes is a disservice to the entire Muslim world. The destruction of holy lands was justified by the Saudis as an act done on behalf of all Muslims, yet all Muslims can make a claim and have made a claim to these religious sites as a place to be preserved.

The Islamic Urban Form: Alleyways & Walkability

“Sana'a, Yemen”. Courtesy of Rod Waddington, flickr.com

Architecture is the haven where man’s spirit, soul, and body find refuge and shelter, this quote from the Andalusian judge, Ibn Abdun, perfectly illustrates the way in which architecture and our urban form is a natural expression of our spiritual values and beliefs. Islam and the urban form presents an incredibly interesting relationship to explore because Islam is not only a religion but a phenomenon that influenced every field. The arts, literature, science, maths, and most notably architecture saw massive advances during the height of the Islamic empire. Islam is an innately urban religion, its spiritual experience is integrally linked to the urban form. The religion has its roots in urban environments and during the Islamic expansion, it birthed and altered cities forever. It provided a comprehensive and integrated cultural system that embeds religious practice into daily life, therefore becoming not only a spiritual experience but a social one as well. The behavioral matrix Islam instructs necessitated architectural structures that allow for these social and religious practices. The pedestrian experience in Islamic cities, characterized by narrow alleyways and insular residential clusters, presents a fascinating insight into the ways in which culture and faith can shape and mold urban forms.

The Arab-Islamic city is entirely unique from other urban forms. Traditional and historic Islamic cities often lack monuments such as freestanding religious or public institutions accompanied by large open squares and plazas. The urban form and the architectural fabric is long, uninterrupted, and continuous. Islamic cities from afar tend to look uniform and homogenous but on the pedestrian level, traditional Islamic structures and buildings are highly differentiated. Islamic cities lacked formal institutions, which meant that there was a clear absence in outstanding government buildings. Any and all institutional functions were fulfilled by a Jami’, Friday Mosque. 

The mosque acted as the prime public building, it not only functioned as a place of worship but provided social and political functions. Mosques were embedded in central markets and were typically modest (unless sponsored and commissioned by royalty). This only further pushed the mosque towards the public realm, along with the markets where all commercial activities occurred. Islamic cities compartmentalize their different spaces between the public and private spheres allow for a clear differentiation between the two. Surrounding the markets are a series and system of sprawling dead-end alleyways that would connect a cluster of courtyard houses. Islam qualifies the private sphere of the family as sacred, and therefore forbidden to strangers. This meant that residences had to be completely insular. These residential units are protected from public life and function as inward-oriented autonomous units. Within these courtyards were a series of houses or structures housing multiple nuclear families to compose the tribe or clan, which would open up into a courtyard or garden where members of the family could gather. The large urban plaza was effectively replaced by the private Islamic courtyard in this environment. This contradicts our conceptions of what creates a walkable environment: travel journals on the Middle East and North Africa painted a vivid image of the loud bustling bazaars, filled with the chatter of passersby and the haggling of shopkeepers. The streets of the Arabic-Islamic city were very much alive and walkable while going against the conventions of walkability. 

Diagram of a typical Arab-Islamic city. Courtesy of Stefano Bianca, Urban Form in the Arab World: Past and Present.

Moreover, the alleyways and courthouses are sacred and protected as needed while the public spaces allowed for a high degree of social interactions (commercial at the market and social, religious, and political at the mosque). The alleyways of Islamic cities illustrate the public-private spectrum and its unique brand of communitarian privacy. These residential clusters were highly autonomous, allowing these clusters to become self-sufficient. Public open space was limited and reduced to an inward-looking corridor system. Beyond religious beliefs, the harsh climate and environments of the Islamic world necessitated these narrow alleyways. A key mark of Islamic architecture is the ways in which it interacts with sunlight, this is reflected in Islamic urban forms as well. Cities are oriented around the sun, and alleyways are often oriented in such a way that it would provide shade for passersby. 

“Dans le souk des dinandiers, médina de Fès el Bali, Fès, Maroc”. Courtesy of Bernard Blanc, flickr.com

Storefronts are also a key component of what makes the Arab-Islamic city walkable. As was mentioned earlier, the marketplace (Suq or Bazaar) often acts as the center and heart of Islamic cities, and will often be the area with most pedestrian activity. Thoroughfares within the Arab-Islamic city are often tight and narrow, storefronts usually offer some type of shade for pedestrians, or, the city will be built in such a fashion that shade would be readily available in these spots. Repetitive brick domes are deployed in the ceilings of markets in Isfahan, while in Arab cities such as Fez, a system of bamboos supported on wooden beams is deployed. These can also be found across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. 

A Bazaar in Isfahan. Courtesy of David Holt, flickr.com

I write this in the light that we could understand walkability under a more flexible definition. Jeff Speck, the leading scholar on walkability in the United States, has written extensively what makes a city walkable and how we make cities walkable. Jeff Speck boils down the walkable urban fabric into three main components: the variety of buildings, frontages, and open spaces. While there is certainly no denying that these components certainly do make for a walkable city, they neglect the traditional Arab-Islamic form from their definition. Large open spaces and plazas simply do not work given the climate and cultural conditions that these places require. This is troubling in a planning and architecture context, as there is a long and dark history of architects and planners forcing their visions and ideas onto places that simply cannot accommodate them, or do not fit the practices of that place. As planners, we should not think as visionaries: believing that we always know what is best, but to facilitate and allow communities to take charge and build their neighborhoods. 

Additional Reading:

• Bianca, Stefano. Urban Form in the Arab World: Past and Present. London ; New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2000.

• Hakim, Besim Selim. Arabic Islamic Cities Rev: Building and Planning Principles. 1 edition. London, UNITED KINGDOM: Routledge, 1986.