There are two sides to Moroccan cities, the maze-like ‘medina’ and the predictably regular ‘ville nouvelle’. While the latter are the generic mix of apartment blocks and car-dominated boulevards that you could find across the world, it is the medinas that deserve our attention. From Marrakech to Chefchaouen the centre of Moroccan cities are the medinas, the formerly walled old towns built organically over hundreds of years. Despite the donkey often remaining the only viable form of transport, the medina still remain very much a living part of the city.

The building block of the medina is the riad, the traditional Moroccan house set around a courtyard. The streets of the medina give little of this away however with the only trace being modest doors and small windows. In line with Islamic modesty, the doors to riads steer away from ostentatious displays meaning the streets themselves have a nice homogeneity broken only by elaborate archways to the ever-present mosques.

Sketch of the typically narrow streets in the Meknes Medina. A minaret pokes up in the distance. Simple and unadorned doors from the numerous riads open directly onto red streets of Marrakech leaving little to differentiate one from another

Once you get past these doors however, all bets are off. After passing through low corridors you emerge into the centre of the riad, the courtyard around which all rooms open onto. While public displays of wealth are frowned upon, private displays are not and the interiors of these courtyards are often adorned with elaborate displays of geometric mosaics – known as zellij – carved plaster and ornate timber work.

The interior of riads can be highly ornate such as these columns in the Ben Youssef Madrasa, Marrakech Narrow courtyards with overhanging roofs offer shading in Morocco’s harsh climate

While the introspective nature of the riad suits Islamic ideals, it is also acutely tuned to Morocco’s climate with the tall courtyards and walkways providing shading to the surrounding rooms and water fountains at the base of the courtyards providing a degree of natural cooling. The way that neighbouring riads are tightly clustered together in blocks, and how these blocks in-turn form narrow alleyways meaning that the streets too are kept shaded and cool in stark contrast to the wide open boulevards of the ville nouvelle.

Water features at the base of open courtyards offer a degree of natural cooling in summer

The riad is a truly vernacular model of architecture offering density and privacy, cultural conformity and climate control. Despite growing affluence in Morocco favouring developments which accommodate the car, growth in the country’s tourist industry and international investors are ensuring that the riad and the medinas that they form will remain integral parts of Moroccan cities.