Overview
Islamic cities are spread all around the world, but there are some commonalities in the way they are designed that sets them apart from other cities. This article about Urban Planning gives a brief chronological overview of the different influences that have affected the layout of these cities.
Encyclopedias
* Be aware of alternate names or alternate spellings *
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Oxford Islamic Studies OnlineThis is a great place to start your search. This databases will give you articles from several encyclopedias, so make sure to look at all of the entries to get a full picture. For some cities, you might only get an entry for the country but this will still give you valuable information.
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Encyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia Britannica is another good starting point. Most of the Islamic cities have entries or are referenced in a country entry. These entries frequently include photos and maps. However, they do not have a specifically Islamic focus.
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Gale ebooks - Middle East collectionThis collection of encyclopedias covers the Middle East and the Islamic World.
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Gale eBooksLook in all our Gale ebook collections as well for cities outside the Middle East.
Other sources
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Historic Cities of the Islamic World
This book contains essays on a number of your cities. Check the table of contents to see if your city is in there, and then go to the entry.
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UHS LibraryCheck in our library catalog to see what we have about your city and/or country.
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ProquestUse Proquest to find newspaper, magazine, and academic journal articles. Try searching your city's name and the word "Muslim" or "Islam." Be aware of the date that your articles were published.
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JSTORUse JSTOR to find academic journal articles. Try searching your city's (or country's) name and the word "Muslim" or "Islam." Be aware of the date that your articles were published.
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Nations OnlineLook up your country in this site. You'll find information about the present day as well as a little history.
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UNESCO World Heritage SitesSome of your cities are on this list of world heritage sites. Use the search function to look.
Using Google
Searching on the open web via Google or another search engine is our go-to instinct. We get it. When searching the open web keep the following in mind:
Word order matters! Google takes into account the way you have typed in your search. Try searching "fashion chemistry" vs. "chemistry fashion." When I do these searches the first result for both is the same, but after that the first search has more science related result and the second more fashion related results.
Operators: Google offers many ways to create advanced searches using various operators that tell the search engine more specifically what you are looking for.
- Quotation marks around exact phrases.
- Use OR to include like phrases (sneakers OR "tennis shoes")
- By using the operator site: you can get Google to look on a specific site or type of site (site:cen.acs.org or just site:org)
- You can eliminate results by using a minus sign and the word you do NOT want in your search. You can also do this to exclude certain types of domains (i.e. .com) There should be no space before the eliminated word. (chemistry air pollution -.com)
- You can also specify that certain words must be in the text of your results (furniture intext:"chemical hazards")
Sorting through results:
- When looking at your search results, look at the title, the excerpt below the title and the URL.
- Can you determine what the site is? If so, do you think it is reliable?
- Do the title and excerpt make the page seem relevant to your project idea?'
- Once on the site, if it is an unfamiliar organization check the About Us section.
- If the site seems reliable and relevant look around by browsing the menus or searching on the site for more information relevant to your topic.