Istanbul, The Development of Islamic City Thinking

Abstract

The existence of a city is very important in civilization. It is notonly as a physical habitat where a group of human lives together but alsoas a place where a community develops and becomes a noble andprosperous society. Islamic community creates a city as a means to create aphysical, economic, social and religious environment. This paper discussedhow the settlement of a city develops Islamic civilizations, from the periodof the Prophet in Madinah, then spread to Arab, Africa, and Asian regions, bringing significant roles for the community. Istanbul, one of the importantcities in Islamic civilization, grew with a combination of many traditions, from Hellenic, Byzans, Persia and later Islam; these traditions thenunderwent fusion as basic thinking to develop the city. This thinking wasimplemented in many ways, from the planning conceptions for thestructure of the city, the unity of the main components of the city (palace, mosque, square and market), the settlement configurations, until theaesthetics of the city expressions.