The Middle Eastern bazaar is much more than a context for commerce: the studies in this book illustrate that markets, regardless of their location, scale, and permanency, have also played important cultural roles within their societies, reflecting historical evolution, industrial development, social and political conditions, urban morphology, and architectural functions. This interdisciplinary volume explores the dynamics of the bazaar with a number of case studies from Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, Nablus, Bursa, Istanbul, Sana'a, Kabul, Tehran, and Yazd. Although they share some contextual and functional characteristics, each bazaar has its own unique and fascinating history, traditions, cultural practices, and structure. One of the most intriguing aspects revealed in this volume is the thread of continuity from past to present exhibited by the bazaar as a forum where a society meets and intermingles in the practice of goods exchange-a social and cultural ritual that is as old as human history.

Foreword and acknowledgementsChapter 1Culture and Politics of Commerce: Bazaars in the Islamic WorldMohammad GharipourChapter 2Ideal-Type and Urban History: The Development of the Suq in DamascusNasser RabbatChapter 3Making of the Old City: Suq al-Hamidiyeh in DamascusFaedah TotahChapter 4Commerce in the Emerging Empire: Formation of the Ottoman Trade Center in BursaÖzlem BagbanciChapter 5Continuity of the Social Space: The Khan al-Jumruk within the Bazaars of AleppoJanet StarkeyChapter 6Changing Functions and Symbolic Centrality: The Suqs of Sana'aFranck MermierChapter 7Crafts and Trade: Public Markets in NablusNaseer ArafatChapter 8From Pre-Industrial to Industrial: Bazaars versus Workshops in KabulMarcus SchadlChapter 9Politics and Patronage: The Evolution of the Sara-ye Amir in the Bazaar of TehranFatema Soudavar FarmanfarmaianChapter 10On the Route to Modernity: The Case of the Valide Khan of IstanbulAndrea DurantiChapter 11Form and Function: Politics and the Morphology of the Bazaar in YazdAli ModarresChapter 12New Trinkets in Old Spaces: Cairo's Khan al-Khalili and the Question of AuthenticityAnna Madeuf and Marika SniderBibliography