User blog comment:Fingowin/Culutre and architecture of the easterlings/@comment-25101089-20161231084313

These are all good points, and I hope you will be relieved to know that we in the mod team have had plenty of discussions on this exact subject, of how to make the Easterlings distinct from the Haradrim. One important thing I would like to point out is that, in the post, I said the Easterlings are based on Turkic cultures, not Turkish (though Turkish is a subset of Turkic). So, think about Central Asian cultures such as the Kazakhs as well.

Of course, this is Middle-earth, not Earth, so we aren't just transplanting real-world cultures into the mod. The Easterlings also have some Middle Eastern influence, as well as influences from the surrounding nations like Dorwinion and Mordor, and they are something quite unique.

As for the buildings, suffice to say that Aidan has done a great job, and they absolutely have their own recognisable style quite distinct from Near Harad. We will be posting pictures soon, and I'm sure you will be satisfied.

And finally, something else worth mentioning is that the Haradrim in the mod aren't quite right, at least as far as lore accuracy goes. They should be less a dazzling exotic culture amidst the verdant fields and colourful bazaars, and more a disparate group of desert-dwellers who pitch their camps in the sand and even struggle against each other. More Bedouin nomads, and less Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation. We have been aware of this problem for quite some time now, but other factions have needed redoing more urgently, and plenty of other things beside are far more important. But, sooner or later, the Haradrim will be reworked to be both more accurate and more diverse, on par with Gondor and its fiefdoms, and perhaps even better.