Damascus: Ottoman Modernity and Urban Transformation (1808-1918)

Damascus, capital of the Ottoman province of Syria and one of the most important centres of the classical Muslim World, faced the same developments in the 19th century as other urban centres in the Mediterranean area and beyond. In the course of the industrial revolution in Europe and the radical expansion of a world-wide network of traffic and communication, new ideas, techniques, goods and architectural forms spread and challenged locally established patterns of urban and social organizatio…