Rabat's medina is the quietest of Morocco's imperial-city medinas — walled, rectilinear, and low-rise, laid out by Andalusian refugees who arrived from Spain in the 17th century. Rue des Consuls is the artery, once lined with the residences of foreign consuls and today filled with Rbati carpet workshops, silver souks, and leather stalls. The Mellah (former Jewish quarter) sits to the south, the Kasbah of the Udayas caps it to the north, and the Almohad wall of Bab el Had marks the western boundary with the Ville Nouvelle.
