Hassan Mahamdallie walks the streets of Detroit - the city America allowed to die, Ziauddin Sardar visits the 'first city' at the crossroads of Asia, Boyd Tonkin is shocked at the new gleaming cultural capitals of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Robert Irwin unearths Basra during the Abbasid period, Kevin Ovenden looks at modern-day Athens in turmoil, Judy Cox sees London through the visions of William Blake and Nazry Bahrawi takes in the nostalgia and popular culture of Singapore. Also in this issue past and present explorations of Lahore, Melbourne, Istanbul, a photo essay on the dreams of the migrant workers of the Gulf and the last word column by Myriam Francois-Cerrah.