Turkey's unique geographical position has sparked numerous debates attempting to categorise Turkish and Ottoman urban architecture as Western or Eastern.
Dr Khanbaghi discussed how the rich diversity of the Muslim world is strikingly expressed through its myriad of cities. As a consequence, a number of these analyses have diffused a subjective understanding of Turkish and Ottoman culture. ISMC's Muslim Civilisations Abstracts project has gathered the perspectives and interpretations of a series of Turkish researchers whose objectives have been to display the realities of Turkish cities and the most pressing issues of Turkish urban centres. The examination of these books reveals the distinctness of Turkish cities and at the same time highlights their similarities with global urban hubs and Third World mega cities. Dr Khanbhagi's presentationcentred on examining the Turkish city as perceived in Europe and the changing Turkish city as projected by local Turkish authors.
