Origin and influences:

• First cities were build more than 5000 years ago
• Politically, socially and culturally independent urban development
• Oriental City Model can be found from the Middle East to Northern Africa
• Region- and societal parameters effected development (Arabic, Iranian, Turkish)
• Hellenic and Roman influences
• Since the 7 th century strong Islamic ascendancies (religious rituals demanded special buildings)
• Colonial rule (separation between Old Town and New Town)
• Industrialisation (industrial areas were requested, working class districts grew)
• Globalisation, modernisation (secularization)

Characteristics:

• Highly spatial segregation in demographically, ethnical, religious and social attributes
• Marginal control of urban development through government
• Mosques, Bazaar, Islamic Schools, washings and cemeteries as culturally independent benefits
• Nearness of religion and economy were demonstrated in the urban coexistence of the mosque and the bazaar in the town centre
• Living and working areas were structural separated (in Oriental Cities a tradition, in Europe only after the Industrialisation)
• Dead-End-Street-System and courtyard houses as an expression of the high value of privacy

Bazaar:

• Worldwide unique organisation entity of production, retail trade, wholesale trade and financing
• Similar to European trading centres in function, not in structure
• Trade and production were differentiated by market needs and social prestige