Did you know that the oldest cities in the world are in the Orient? The oriental city of Jericho was founded more than 10,000 years ago. Since the 7th century, the oriental cities have been shaped and changed by Islamic culture. But what is an oriental city anyway and what are its characteristics?
Oriental City – Definition
In urban geography, four different types of cities are distinguished.
A city type is a designation for cities that have the same or similar characteristics and can therefore be classified in a group.
One type of city is the oriental city.
the Oriental cityalso known as an oriental-Islamic city, is a city model that shows simplified characteristics and processes of cities in the Orient.
Cities in the Orient are primarily cities in countries in North Africa and the Near East, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Iran.
The word «Orient» comes from the Latin for «sol oriens» and means something like «rising sun».
The oriental cities have a history spanning more than 5,000 years, making them among the oldest cities in the world.
For example, the city of Jericho was founded more than 10,000 years ago.
Due to the political, cultural and social expansion of Islam, the oriental city was increasingly influenced by Islam from the seventh century1 – hence the name oriental-Islamic city.
Little by little, typical features of oriental cities have developed.
Oriental City – Characteristics
Like any type of city, the oriental city has certain structural characteristics:
- Dead ends in the old town (Medina)
- one- to two-story houses with inner courtyards
- the (main) mosque in the center of the city
- the bazaar (suq) as the economic center
- City wall around the old town
- separate living quarters for different religions
You can find out more about the individual points below in the declaration.
Oriental city – construction
You can also recognize these typical features in the structure. The ideal layout of the Islamic-oriental city was designed in 1969 by the geographer Klaus Dettmann. From this, Martin Seger developed the city model of the Islamic-oriental city in 1975.
A city model is a simplified representation of the social, economic, cultural and spatial organization of a city.
You can find out more about this in the explanation of the city models.
Oriental city – model
The old town
In the center is the old town, which is also called Medina referred to as. In the middle of the old town is the mosque. Around this is the city’s market – also known as the souq or bazaar. Behind the market is a residential area with a typical cul-de-sac layout. Typical for a dead-end floor plan are few main streets. Many small and narrow cul-de-sacs branch off the main streets. Small paths separate from the cul-de-sacs and lead directly into the interior of the residential buildings.
The cul-de-sacs are considered private property of the residents and therefore count as privacy.
The living quarters of different ethnic groups are separated from each other. There are separate quarters for Jews, Christians and Muslims. You can do that as well ethnic segregation describe. Within the residential areas are other smaller mosques and markets. As a result, separate sub-centres are formed in the residential areas.
subcentres describe the concentration, for example, on smaller side markets instead of the only large market in the city center. They form their own small center.
The old town is surrounded on the outside by a city wall, into which a citadel was integrated. Outside the city walls are the cemeteries.
Originally, many oriental cities were surrounded by a city wall, which was broken up in many cities, among other things, by the construction of wider streets. In the course of the growth of the cities, the city fortifications have long since lost their former defensive and protective function.
The outer borough
The oriental city was changed and reshaped by western influence from the 19th century. The old town was also changed a bit. This is cut by large thoroughfares. Such thoroughfares lead directly to the bazaar. Many shops have settled along the arterial roads – some of them from the former bazaar.
New districts have formed outside the city walls.
The districts are functionally divided into residential, business center and commercial. The neighborhoods are separated according to people’s income. This is also called social segregation designated. The upper class lives in modern residential areas on the shopping and business street. The middle class lives around this area and the old town.
Because the upper and middle classes could afford to move out of the old town, it was neglected. There was slum formation.
A slum is a densely populated, lower-class neighborhood composed of poor building quality and infrastructure.
After a while, the upper class moved to the shopping streets and the lower class was able to move to the outskirts of the city. The lower class now lives on the devalued outskirts of the city. Most of the bazaar has settled in the modern part of the city on the shopping and business street. The old bazaar is now only a tourist attraction.
In summary, it can be said that the modernizations based on the Western style mean that the traditional oriental city structures and ways of life are becoming increasingly less important and are also partially destroyed.
Oriental city – example
Here are a few examples that reflect the city type of an Islamic-oriental city:
- Tehran (Iran)
- Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
- Herat (Afghanistan)
- Aleppo (Syria)
- Doha (Qatar)
- Damascus (Syria)
Oriental City – The Most Important
- A city type is a designation for cities that have the same or similar characteristics and can therefore be classified in a group.
- the Oriental cityalso known as an oriental-Islamic city, is a city model that shows simplified characteristics and processes of cities in the Orient.
- The oriental cities are those oldest cities worldwide.
- The oriental cities were dated in the 7th century Islam and in the 19th century by the west influenced.
- A city model is a simplified representation of the social, economic, cultural and spatial organization of a city.
- Construction of the city (inside to outside): main mosque, bazaar, cul-de-sac layout, city wall with citadel, new district
- examples for oriental cities: Tehran (Iran), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Herat (Afghanistan), Aleppo (Syria), Doha (Qatar), Damascus (Syria)
proof
- geohilfe.de: The oriental-Islamic city – characteristics and urban development. (09/01/2022)
- diercke.westermann.de: Model of the oriental-Islamic city. (09/01/2022)
- Klett.de: Info sheet The oriental city. (09/01/2022)