Sousse

Sousse's medina preserves a coastal urban form shaped by the combined demands of trade and defence. Its walls and fortified religious architecture recall its role within an early Islamic coastal defence system, while the historic layout includes two main axes crossing a network of narrower residential streets.

Closely adjoining houses form quarters divided by winding lanes and paths. This domestic fabric is as important to the city's heritage as its more prominent fortified buildings. New development beyond the walls and changes in construction techniques have created conservation pressures, requiring a balance between the needs of inhabitants and the continuity of the older urban pattern.