Contents:Part 1. The ancient Middle Eastern city. Mesopotamia: land of many cities A.L. Oppenheim. Part 2. The traditional Muslim city. The architecture of the Middle Eastern city O. Grabar - Muslim cities and Islamic societies I.M. Lapidus - Cairo : an Islamic city in the light of the Geniza documents S.D. Goitein. Part 3. Contemporary Middle Eastern cities. Economic change and urbanization in the Middle East C. Issawi - Village and city : cultural continuities in twentieth century Middle Eastern cultures J. Gulick - Varieties of urban experience : contrast, coexistence, and coalescence in Cairo J. Abu-Lughod. Conclusion R. McC. Adams.