Tetouan Ensanche

Tetouan was the capital of the Spanish protectorate zone from 1913 and the Spanish built an ensanche - a planned extension - beside the existing medina rather than through it, on a grid centred on the circular Place Moulay el Mehdi. What went up between the 1920s and the 1950s is a coherent quarter of art deco and rationalist apartment blocks and public buildings: rounded corners, horizontal banding, balconies with steel rails, geometric relief, and a lot of white render, along with a cinema, a Catholic church still on the square, and the old Spanish consulate. It is far less altered than the equivalent quarters in Casablanca and can be read as a whole, which is why architectural historians rate it. Many facades are worn and some are decaying, and there is very little interpretation. The UNESCO-listed medina is immediately alongside and the contrast between the two is the interest.

What you actually see

• A planned Spanish extension - built beside the medina rather than through it.
• Coherent 1920s to 1950s fabric - deco and rationalist blocks little altered since.
• Place Moulay el Mehdi - a circular square with the church and consulate on it.
• The contrast - a UNESCO medina immediately alongside the new town.

When to go

Spring and autumn. Half a day, walking both quarters.

Honest expectations

Many facades are worn and some buildings are decaying. There is essentially no interpretation - you are looking at ordinary streets. Interiors are private. Tetouan is more conservative than Tangier; dress accordingly.

Nearby

The Tetouan medina is adjacent; Martil beach is ten kilometres east.