Survival of the Tunisian Medina’s Traditional Bazaars in the Globalized World

Abstract

In ancient times, bazaars were an included part of the city life; bifurcating from the city structure and reflecting each era’s architectural characteristics. They are also the source of communications and trade activities. However, due to the quick changes in the cities’ spatial configurations that we are living in and the mutation in the materials and methods of construction, these traditional spaces started to run a risk of possible identity loss and a risk of cultural memory alteration. However, despite the disturbing contradiction which is affecting the traditional allure of such spaces, they still reflect an undying identity. They still talk about the engraved collective memory through several architectural traits and lived experiences. Tunisian Medina is one such place that had seen its spatial configuration changing slowly affecting the bazaars initial state. The Medina is also a “particular space”: it is one cradle of Islamic Arabic trait. Despite the absence of historical documents and official records, the relative conservation of Tunisian urban fabric is enough to permit serious research in the field. It is true that there are a large number of buildings in ruins that made the Medina look different from its old state. However, it is still possible to reconstitute traditional urban structures from contemporary analysis and oral testimony. Its formal configuration has undergone relatively few transformations since ancient times but it still reflect a remarkable typo-morphological continuity spanning over several centuries. What stimulated the exploration of this particular study is the resistive traits noticed in the Medina’s bazaars in the modern westernized world. This article explores how the cultural continuity of traditional bazaars can be a stimulus to enhance the resistance against globalization-induced identity loss.