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CM18: Cities

Hassan Mahamdallie discovers shoots of hope in the wastelands of Detroit. Peter Clark thinks that Istanbul is the eternal capital of the world, Robert Irwin is impressed by intellectual developments in Medieval Basra, Boyd Tonkin is unimpressed by off-the-peg culture in Persian Gulf Cities, Eric Walberg finds friendship, authoritarianism and Islam in Tashkent, Javaad Alipoor is haunted by utopias in Tehran, Nimra Khan visits the transgender community of Lahore, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas tries to make sense of city rankings, Paul Vallely investigates the complicated financial system of the Vatican, Irfan Yusuf takes us on a guided tour of mosques in Sydney, Martin Rose recounts the history of Rabat - the 'pearl of Morocco', Irna Qureshi and Syima Aslam organise a literary festival in Bradford, VMK photographs the migrant workers of Dubai, and Zina Mamouni watches Abderrahmane Sissako's brilliant film Timbuktu. 

Also in this issue: S Parvez Manzoor on Obstinate Sovereignty (again), Muddasir Ramzan on a bold new novel about Kashmir, a short story by the novelist Maria Chaudhuri, four poems by the Australian hip hop artist Zohab Khan, Stuart Schaar's Last Word on the late Fatima Mernissi and our list of Ten Cities to Visit Before You Die!

In this issue

Detroit Do Mind Dying by Hassan Mahamdallie

He stumbled out from in between two corrugated-iron and wooden huts, onto the pavement and spun round to face me. I was walking towards him along ...

Medieval Basra by Robert Irwin

‘I made up my mind to go to sea and so I went off to buy a variety of trade goods, as well as other things that I would need for the ...

Tashkent Odyssey by Eric Walberg

It was 1989, and I was in Moscow. I had come at the invitation of Moscow News. From my editor’s office on Pushkin Square, I watched on ...

Inside the Vatican by Paul Vellely

The Vatican Bank is housed in a medieval tower that once served as a dungeon. Its lower floors have no windows. To gain admittance you have to ...

Ten Cities to Visit Before You Die

1. Fez There is only one city that can be on the top of your travel list: Fez. After the destruction of Aleppo, it is the only Islamic city that ...

Festive Bradford by Syima Aslam and Irna Qureshi

What do you think of when you think of Bradford? Bradford is a city where a number of small, but hugely impactful, events have led to the creation ...