Why do medina streets feel narrower than the map suggests?
The short answer
Buildings lean inward at upper floors, covered passages bridge the gap entirely, and everything from workshops to parked motorcycles claims the remaining space. A three-metre alley might leave you one metre to walk through.
Medina streets were built for pedestrians and pack animals. The buildings lean inward at upper floors — gaining living space above while casting shade below. Covered passages called sabats bridge the gap entirely, turning streets into tunnels. Wall height to street width creates a canyon effect.
A three-metre passage is also a workshop, a display shelf, a parking spot for three motorcycles, and a place where two men drink tea on plastic chairs. The space actually available to your body is whatever's left.
Maps render streets as lines of consistent width. They don't account for the cart parked halfway across, the rug display spilling into the path, or the donkey that has stopped. European cities were widened for carriages and cars. Medina streets never were.