This book brings together intimate portraits of five great cities: Istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Dubai. Through its pages we discover quietly beautiful, yet meticulously constructed images; unexpected views of cities which take us beyond the clichés. These images constitute architectural research and visual poetry at the same time. The publication is the result of a unique collaboration between leading academics and urban researchers based in the five cities and the Dutch artist Bas Princen. It has been specially commissioned by architectural curators Philipp Misselwitz and Can Altay for the IABR 2009.