rabat :: (com)pression

rabat is now the capital of morocco, but it was only chosen by the french in the 20th century to be a strategic city, setting up a delicate integration of the old medina with the new french city. rabat has a very special layout with physical and visual connections - the casbah is connected to the medina and the medina is connected to the new town. moreover, a strong visual connection exists between rabat and its neighbor city, salé.

outside the old wall

medina (blvd mohammed V)

ville nouvelle (blvd mohammed V)

fez :: self-trace

Self-traced paths through the medina begin to reveal the urban structure. There are two main streets climbing the hill (to the left). At the bottom of the hill the great mosque (to the right).

Fez looks so manageable. The map I made of Fez el Bali (old Fez) shows only streets that connect to another street on both ends. There are THOUSANDS of dead-end streets not shown here.