12th century
Governorate of Nabatiyya, Lebanon
Every period has left its mark on this site, which has changed ownership many times over the centuries. The building can be read as an architectural-historical look into the past.
17th century
Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algiers, Algeria
A view of Algiers from the sea, identifying its different rural and urban sections and skyline.
5th millennium BC; 18th century settlement; abandoned probably at the beginning of the 20th century
Al-Zubarah, Qatar
Visiting al-Zubarah is like travelling back in time. As if in an archaeological laboratory, one is able to walk through its historical past and examine what it was like to live there.
19th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
19th century
Istanbul University, Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi (Rare Books Library)
Istanbul, Turkey
A map that shows new public services and illustrates the impact of new technologies in the region.
The Aqueduct in the Forest of Belgrade, Istanbul
Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century
Sharjah Art Museum / Sharjah Museums Department
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Sharjah)
Unknown
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Alexandria, Egypt
The location, height and architectural features of the Bourse ensured the building’s landmark status in modern Alexandria. The impact of European architecture is clear, but it seems appropriate to the building’s function as well.
The View of the City of Algiers
(published in) 1830
Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algiers, Algeria
A colour lithograph showing a historic view of Algiers.
1840–1846
Musée Public National des Antiquités
Algiers, Algeria
A plan of Oran, Algeria, depicting the different sections and parts of its urban system.
Map of Beirut as it appeared in 1841
1841
American University of Beirut
Beirut , Lebanon
A historic map of the city and harbour.
1845
Benaki Museum
Athens, Greece
Studies of different sites are valuable as documents of the urban assets of a city, immortalising it in visual documents at a specific point in time. This lithograph was made at a time when Athens was collating its urban assets. As the first king of Greece following independence from the Ottoman Empire, King Otto wanted to remodel the city and breathe new “new life” into it by recalling the city’s classical past.
1845
Benaki Museum
Athens, Greece
A topographic view to show the commercial and cultural sites and districts of Smyrna.
General view of the excavations in the crypt of the Saint-Geneviève monastery, in 1807
1850
National Library of France
Paris, France
Map of the different types of housing in East Beirut
1850
Maisons traditionnelles de Beyrouth: Typologie, culture domestique, valeur patrimoniale. Le secteur de Rmeil-Médawwar (Book)
Rmeil, Lebanon
A survey map representing the social and economic web and interrelations in a district of Beirut.
1851
Benaki Museum
Athens, Greece
A colour view of Constantinople that shows various sections of the city and the skyline dominated by domes and towers.
1852
State Archives of Livorno
Livorno, Italy
A map showing the presence of a foreign community and the space they inhabited within the city’s texture.
c. 1850
Labronica Library, City of Livorno
Livorno, Italy
The Port From The Galata Tower
Mid-19th century
Pera Museum
Istanbul, Turkey
A panoramic view of the city with the skyline determined by the shapes of mosques and minarets.