Cities with Personalities

Abd Al-Rahman Munif (1933-2004) is an Arab novelist who has drawn much attention to the modernization and urbanization of many Arab towns and their shift into cities. In most of his works Munif is charmed by places cities and the changes that occur to them to the extent that cities do not merely stand as spatial elements of his works but are considered characters of their own. This book sheds light on the changes that happened to the Arab Peninsula and to Oman. In his works Munif assumes the role of an an urban anthropologist whose fascination with places and people is unmistakably evident.