Urban dwellers in general were anomalous in the 18th-century Arab world and even in Syria, where most people lived in villages in the countryside, says Grehan (history, Portland State U.), and
Damascus, though one of the largest cities in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, was neither a commercial nor an industrial center, but thrived as an usually cosmopolitan hub for local
and regional markets. He examines how food and drink, housing, clothing fashion, and other material goods fit into the culture. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
