The heart of the city was probably the fortified Island in the centre of the river. The city has been meticulously planned. Long thoroughfares lead to important buildings and monuments.
Fig 4
The radial and linear grid system adopted by the city planners is evident, but is broken up by the canal system which follows a curving route.
The streets follow an organic pattern. The suggestion is that the city is crowded and much of the building is ad-hoc. The streets on the northern part of the city follow the contours of the hill. Ribbon development is taking place along the river bank.
Fig 5
Note the lack of public space. Only important buildings and monuments have a clear area around them.
Fig 6 The gradual transformation of a gridded Roman colony into an Islamic city. Left: The solidly framed Roman grid is punctuated by an open-air market and an amphitheatre. Centre: The city’s new Islamic population appropriates these public monuments for private use, and mid-block pathways begin to violate the orthogonal street pattern. Right: The transformed city is one with a minimum of open public space. Straight passages along the winding system of narrow lanes offer the merest suggestion of the original layout.
The Creation and Depiction of Fantasy Cities
8