Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

For centuries, bazaar has successfully represented the heart of urban traditional centers, and has permitted the blooming of Islamic cities as the most important economic structure of the city. Furthermore, it was the center of various activities thanks to many past-coming factors that ensured the resilience of this traditional structure. Nowadays, bazaar is still standing, keeping its original functions in most Islamic cities and able to face the speed transformations of modern life without losing its values, soul, identity, and its role as a vital commercial area. This study examines the resilient features of a specific case study: the Bazaar of Bursa and Fez as a living model World Heritage in the Islamic world. The idea of investigating the resilient aspects of these two bazaars came from the fact that they are situated both in path of important historical trade roads. The most striking similarity is that Bursa and Fez cities have changed in different period of history, while the historical commercial axis of bazaars fortunately still have their own characteristics and are the most important urban spaces preserved until the present. By defining the indicators which has insured the social, economical, and spatial resilience of the Bazaars in Bursa and Fez, it is possible to introduce an idea about the guiding principles and indicator tools of measuring resilience in bazaars as a practical guide to understand the lessons given by the Islamic cities in matters of self-protection, self-organization, and adaptability.