Enter the Agadir Medina, stepping into a maze of linked buildings dusted in the shade of baked clay and elaborate archways worked in stone. What you see is a labor of love and passion, a city brought back to life in the hands of Moroccan-Italian architect Coco Polizzi. The original ruins had fallen away close to half a century ago due to a devastating earthquake but the spirit of its people was not lost. Each building and city feature was constructed using local stone, slate and soil, molded by hand using the ancient art of construction. The bricks you see fitted into walls and uneven stones stacked to form doorways were laid one by one, reflecting the character of the craftsman who had placed them. The repeated patterns of immense intricacy shaped into the clay were made to resemble the organized tones of Berber architecture, while borrowing elements of the Saharan way of construction.

Even today, the courtyards relive the merchant days of the ancient city with stalls open for business under the shade of palm trees and wooden roofs. Artists and modern day craftsmen hawk their wares, putting a spin on the traditional art forms such as henna, stonework and wood carvings in these recreated marketplaces. The Agadir Medina is more than just a museum displaying a snapshot of our past but a thriving art scene that pulls the past into the present.