Examines the cities of Algeria and Tunisia under French colonial rule and those of the Ottoman Arab provinces. By shifting the emphasis from the 'centers' of Paris and Istanbul to the 'peripheries', this title presents a more nuanced look at cross-cultural exchanges.

Empire building and modernity dominate the history of the nineteenth century. Like their counterparts in Europe, the French and Ottoman empires employed urban infrastructure and city expansion to impose modernity and empire upon diverse social and political landscapes. elik examines Algeria and Tunisia under French colonial rule and the cities of the Ottoman Arab provinces of Syria, Beirut, Aleppo, Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Hijaz, Yemen, and Tripoli (Trablusgarb). Zeynep elik is professor of architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.